Tangle
by LlamasInShortPants
Summary: M/A. Attempt at a challenge, because I'm too lame to come up with something original. I explain myself better inside. But don't expect too much.
1. Default Chapter

Challenge #5 Added 4/21/02  
  
As many of you know, 'tis the season for finals. So naturally this is when I get the yen to color coordinate my paper-clips, name every individual tablet of Advil in the bottle… and write fan fiction. I've never done it before. Never felt strongly enough about a show to warrant it. But let's be honest, if Alec doesn't elicit strong feelings then nothing will. Coming up with a plot, however, is way beyond my already over-taxed brain - so I'm taking one of the challenges found on Donna Lynn's site.  
  
I feel I should stress the fact that I've never done this before and so don't expect too much.  
  
This takes place before the S2 finale (which by the way, as far as Alec was concerned, sucked ass) but after Max comes up with her little ploy to keep Logan away and safe. When the story starts however, Alec doesn't know about it. Reviews are welcome, I like the challenge of trying to do better.  
  
Oh and, last thing - Alec and Max SO belong together.  
  
Disclaimer: You know the deal. Max, OC, Logan, Asha are not mine. Alec is not mine - a fact I weep over daily. They belong to Cameron/Eglee. Lucky bastards.  
  
  
  
Challenge  
  
Max, Logan, Alec and Asha go undercover as 2 couples wanting to purchase children so they can release them back to their parents and arrest the accused and guilty  
  
Required  
  
1) Max and Alec have to be play a couple and Logan and Asha have to play a couple  
  
2) A vibrating bed must fit in to the plot  
  
3) Logan has to walk in on Asha in the shower  
  
4) Max and Alec have to fake perform in front of a camera. (What I mean by that is they have to pretend to be having sex somewhere in the story preferably when they know they're being watched on a camera in their room maybe)  
  
5) They all must have pet names for each other like Max and Alec have one for one another and Logan and Asha have for one another  
  
6) Logan and Asha have sex, you don't have to be graphic if you don't want too  
  
7) Alec catches them in the act  
  
8) Max and Asha have a major arguing fight over Logan and Alec  
  
9) At the end everyone must have no ill will toward one another  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Had circumstances been normal the beeping at her shoulder would have sent a pleasant little thrill through Max's nervous system. As things were however, it only added fuel to the fire that was her foul mood.  
  
"Twenty bucks says that's your ex-honey." Original Cindy said from her seat next to Max.  
  
She shot her friend a dark look and then resumed her brooding. It was fun, she was going to have to do this more often. Sit in the near dark, with loud music booming, hunched over a bar, feeling sorry for herself.  
  
"That's the fourth time he's paged you in the past two hours, Max. What if it's important?"  
  
Original Cindy's ability to point out the critical at just the right moment was usually a trait Max admired in her friend. Tonight it was cramping her style. She didn't want to call Logan back. She didn't want to have a stilted conversation in which he tried to disguise his hurt and she tried to disguise her guilt. She didn't want to go save the world tonight. She just wanted to nurse her beer and wallow in her unhappiness.  
  
"Evening, ladies."  
  
The smooth voice came from her right, accompanied by a flurry of movement in her peripheral vision. It was a voice she instantly recognized. Without conscious realization her scowl deepened.  
  
"What do you want?" She demanded.  
  
"Oh, I don't know, Maxie. What do any of us want? Food; clothing; a nice stout ale; the love of a good woman;…"  
  
She groaned and pressed her forehead to the cool wood of the bar.  
  
"… shelter; understanding from those whom we love; world peace; for those who would be oppressed to look upon the shining face of freedom…"  
  
He was only getting more loquacious, which meant he was really starting to get into it, which meant he was enjoying himself, which meant he was far from finished.  
  
"Alec!" She slammed her hand down on the bar as she lifted her head to glare at him. His face was as innocent as a baby's. But his eyes - those wicked, maddening eyes - were laughing.  
  
She set her beer mud down. Hard. And looked at Original Cindy with a tight smile. "You know what? Suddenly I can't wait to go to the other side of this room and make that phone call."  
  
Alec watched Max stalk away, leaning his elbows casually against the bar, "She's really a very angry person, you know. Lot's of pent up aggression. She should definitely see someone about that, it can't be healthy."  
  
"Can't be healthy for you, is what you mean." Original Cindy eyed him. "Sometimes I think you must have a death wish, boy."  
  
* * *  
  
"So what you're saying is that you want to sneak into a secret underground child smuggling ring tonight and be back in time for dinner on Sunday?" Under the circumstances Max thought she was keeping her cool remarkably well.  
  
There was a moment of silence on Logan's end of the phone.  
  
"Do I sense some sarcasm, Max?"  
  
"Have you completely lost your mind, Logan?" She hissed, trying to keep her voice low enough that nobody around her would overhear but forceful enough that he would understand just how not-happy she was. "Something like this would take weeks of planning. Covers need to be developed, sites need to be scouted, plans need to be made, rendezvous routed. It's a logistical nightmare, you can't just go running off to make a weekend of it."  
  
"You can take the girl out of the boot camp but you can't take the boot camp out of the girl, eh?" Her lunatic ex-not-quite-boyfriend-but-not-quite- platonic-friend-either actually sounded faintly amused. "Calm down Max, I know what I'm doing, remember? The past two hours that you spent not calling me, I've spent making reservations and contacts for Asha and I. This is just to let you know what's going on, in case something happens."  
  
"You and Asha are not, I repeat, NOT trained for something of this magnitude, Logan. These people are not corrupt, lazy cops that can be bought off with a nice chunk of cash. They are professionals. And I mean that in the most serious way possible - we're talking Italian Mafia connections."  
  
"So what do you propose?" An edge entered his voice, "Do you want to come with me instead, Max? Want to come along and pretend to be my wife?"  
  
Ouch.  
  
She closed her eyes reflexively, mentally rolling with the punch. Ah yes, there it was, in case she forgot for a nanosecond - guilt.  
  
"Low blow." Her voice was quiet.  
  
"Look, I appreciate your concern, but the plans have already been made. They're expecting Logan Wright and his wife Asha early tomorrow morning. We're talking about kids here, I don't have time to waste."  
  
"Well, I'm coming with you."  
  
"I don't think they'll buy into a bigamy story." He said dryly.  
  
"I'll be your sister or something."  
  
"They only accept couples - people looking to purchase a child."  
  
Max sighed and shifted her weight, looking restlessly around the bar, "Well, I'll think of something, all right? Tell me how to get in touch with them."  
  
"I don't think-"  
  
"This isn't up for debate, Logan. I'm not sending you two in there alone, so drop it."  
  
She could easily imagine the irritated look on his face as he rattled off a phone number and name. Tough. Without any recon he didn't have a clue what he was getting in to. It could even be a trap, though the odds were unlikely.  
  
She hung up with a grunt and immediately dialed the number he'd given her. When the other line was picked up by a professional sounding female she automatically shifted her voice several innocent octaves, "Hello, my name is Maxine Penn, I'm calling to speak with Dr. Hansel."  
  
"Certainly Mrs. Penn, may I inquire as to your business with Dr. Hansel?"  
  
Logan had said she would get this question, he'd also told her what to say back. She answered carefully, "I'm interested in his research."  
  
Minutes later Dr. Gregory Hansel was schmoozing her over the phone. "I would be happy see you this weekend and discuss my current research, Mrs. Penn. How did you say you heard about my project?"  
  
"I close friend of mine told me about it. He knew I would be very interested. Him and his wife are actually coming this weekend as well, I thought we could all go down together."  
  
"You understand, Mrs. Penn, that we prefer to only see people who are serious about my work."  
  
"I understand completely, Doctor. I assure you that I am very, very serious."  
  
"Excellent. I'll put you down for a room for two, and you'll be arriving tomorrow morning?"  
  
"Yes." She hesitated, "There is a chance however, that my husband may not make it."  
  
Immediately Dr. Hansel's voice became noticeably cooler, "I'm sorry ma'am, but we only see couples here. Perhaps you would like to reschedule for a time when your husband can be present?"  
  
"No, no." She said hastily, "I'll speak to him, I'm sure we can work around it."  
  
"Then until tomorrow, Mrs. Penn. Good day."  
  
"Good day to you too, jerk-off." She muttered into the dial tone.  
  
Great. Just great. Because of that sexist asshole she now had to show up tomorrow with a husband or forfeit Logan and Asha's safety. Where the hell was she going to find a husband in six hours?  
  
"You know that, statistically speaking, you're more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than a poisonous spider." Alec materialized next to her, propping his arm on top of the pay phone, "That's just incredible. I mean, think about that next time you're at a wedding reception. Dodging lethal little-"  
  
"Why are you still talking?" Max turned and headed back towards the bar, praying to a God she didn't believe in that he wouldn't follow. She didn't have time for Alec and his mouth, she had to find a husband- Oh no.  
  
Horror brought her up short as the synapse finally fired.  
  
Oh. No.  
  
Caught off guard by her sudden stop, Alec ran into her from behind. She barely noticed. Spinning around Max jabbed her finger into his chest, "This is all your fault." She hissed, "All. Your. Fault." Punctuating each word with a poke.  
  
"Hey!" He grabbed her hand, "You're the one that stopped-"  
  
"I mean, dating is one thing, that's bad enough. But married! You've got to be kidding me. I mean, how am I supposed to keep a straight face?" She tried to pull her hand free but he wouldn't let go. "It's going to be a nightmare. Between trying not to get them killed and you and your stupid smart remarks and saving little kids…" She tugged her hand again, "I'm going to lose all grip on reality." Tug.  
  
Alec leaned in close and patted her shoulder, "Not to worry Maxie, I think you've already taken care of that last little part."  
  
She ignored him, "Let go of me."  
  
"Only if you promise not to poke me anymore."  
  
"If you promise not to get on my last nerve."  
  
"If you beg my forgiveness for being such a bitch."  
  
"If you drop dead."  
  
They stood there glaring at each other for a long minute, faces inches apart. The standoff ended only when Original Cindy arrived.  
  
"All right, all right." She said sternly, insinuating herself between the two, pushing them several feet away from each other. "Enough, children. What was Logan all a'fire about?"  
  
Max reluctantly broke her death gaze with Alec, "There's this job, he needs our help?"  
  
"Our help?" Alec was all over it gleefully.  
  
"Yes." She snapped, "Our help. He think he and Asha can handle it, but they're going in blind. They'll be sitting ducks if it goes sideways."  
  
"Then I think," Original Cindy's voice was pointed, "You have more important things to be doing than bickering."  
  
"Don't you know, OC," Alec draped an arm over her shoulders and flashed his grin, "Nothing is more important than our fighting."  
  
* * *  
  
TBC 


	2. Impotent

You guys are so awesome. Your reviews blew me away, I was so excited and inspired to keep writing. Now I'm all freaked out that I'm going to disappoint you, though =)  
  
Also, this really is my first fanfic, I wasn't lying. But don't be impressed, because it's far from my first story. I come to the table with lots of experience.  
  
It may be a few extra days until the next chapter - my O Chem final is coming up. Things could get ugly.  
  
Moon Kitty asked for the name of the site I got the challenge at, so here it is if anyone else is interested. It's kick ass. http://www.darkangelsfanfic.com/  
  
Also, I can't for the life of me figure out how to get the html to save, so the formatting is really bugging me. It looks so much nicer on Word, where everything's italicized and stuff. Sigh.  
  
And now enough of my blathering.  
  
* * *  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Nobody had told her that the drive was an hour and a half.  
  
Nobody had told her that the goddamn drive was a goddamn HOUR AND A HALF.  
  
The four of them - Logan and Asha in front, Max and Alec in back - were sitting comfortably in Bessie while Logan drove them deeper into the country. Well, their bodies were comfortable, at least. Their sanity was an entirely different issue.  
  
"I admit that his left jab caught me off guard," Alec continued, "I'd pegged him for a righty but come to find out that the guy was ambidextrous. Heh. Who knew. So he glances off my chin but I'm already responding with a roundhouse kick that catches him in the solar plexus. Hey, look - cows."  
  
Max gritted her teeth and pressed her forehead against the cool glass. Just stay calm, she told herself, we're almost there. You're a genetically engineered soldier trained to withstand the most excruciating torture the human brain can think up.  
  
"You know, I think I'd like to be a cow. Wandering around in the grass all day, chewing some cud, napping-"  
  
Max was across the seat almost faster than the human eye could detect, her right hand wrapped around Alec's throat, pushing him into the seat.  
  
"He-ey, Maxie." He began, but she cut him.  
  
"Shut up." She hissed, shaking him hard enough that his head jiggled, "Shut up, shut up, shut up! You have been talking for over an hour. Nonstop! And you haven't even been solving any world problems! You just yap. Constantly! So just. Shut. Up!"  
  
Alec eyed her with little real concern. Sure she looked a little peaked… and there was a distinctly wild roll to her eyes… and she had him rather tightly by the neck, but he had yet to find himself in a situation that was truly out of his control. He tried his most charming smile.  
  
Her eyes only darkened.  
  
He decided he should probably tread carefully here, "Why snookums, are you upset?" Or not. Baiting her was just so easy.  
  
"The second this is over I'm going to tear-"  
  
"Now kids, don't make me pull this car over." Logan's voice cut off her tirade, not so much his words as his tone. Striving for light-heartedness but coming just short of concealing the tension underneath.  
  
"One of these days." She muttered, giving his neck one last shake before moving back to her seat.  
  
Alec swallowed experimentally and ran a hand down his throat. Everything seemed to be working properly. "I think you left talon marks." He complained.  
  
Max ignored him, deliberately turning her attention to the window. In the city the seasons were demonstrated by the shift in temperature. Out here though she could actually see grass, and trees and the greenness of both. Cool.  
  
She snuck a glance in Logan's direction, feeling a familiar twinge. She hadn't stopped to consider how this little charade was going to make him feel. As far as he knew, her and Alec were "an item" and then on top of that pretending to be married. What she didn't know were the details of what he was thinking. She'd been deliberately vague that night she'd confirmed his worst suspicions, only now it was backfiring on her. Did he think they were just dating? Did he think they were sleeping together? Maybe that they didn't even have any relationship besides sex? She didn't know.  
  
And while she was on the subject of everything she didn't know, what did Alec know? Their conversation since last night at Crash had consisted of several thinly veiled insults and the previous altercation. In all his verbal meandering the one topic he'd failed to touch on was what awaited them at their destination. It was like he didn't even care. She snorted and glanced at him - how utterly, utterly typical. As she watched they moved out of the shadow of a large hill and the morning sun spilled into the car. She blinked as her pupils constricted and the light threw Alec into profile.  
  
She heard Original Cindy in her head - He's from Manticore, huh? Say what you want--they sure know how to make 'em pretty.  
  
Her friend had certainly been right on the money that night - pretty was exactly the right word. Especially during moments like this one, when he had that pouty, disgruntled expression on his face-  
  
Her mental fist came out and slugged her. She cut the thought off, aghast. Good God, she must have some sort of vitamin deficiency or something. She frowned out the window, resisting the urge to check for a temperature. Maybe it was all this fresh air, who knew what the stuff could do a transgenic…  
  
Alec couldn't believe Max hadn't briefed him on the mission. They'd been in this hunk of junk for an hour and nobody seemed capable of any kind of conversation. Max had accused him of yapping - well he wouldn't have to yap if somebody else would do some of the talking. Instead they all were just wallowing in uncomfortable silence. He hated silence. It was so… still. They could have been discussing strategy or covers or plans of action - instead Asha and Max were exchanging uneasy glances and he was trying to ignore the level, wounded looks Logan was shooting him in the review mirror. How he had become embroiled in such a soap opera was still baffling him.  
  
"So," He said loudly, pleased when Max jumped guiltily, "somebody want to tell me what's going on?"  
  
"Going on?" Max looked faint, "Nothing's going on, okay. Nothing."  
  
"Oh." He considered that. "So then we're not infiltrating a secret, underground child smuggling ring after all? Shucks."  
  
Her expression cleared, was that relief on her face? And she actually smiled at him.  
  
His eyes narrowed suspiciously.  
  
"The story is this," Asha cut in hastily before the conversation could deteriorate. As most conversations between the two of them did. "Rumor has it that back in '03 the Mafia got into the child kidnapping business. After the pulse it was significantly easier to sell them, so much so that they're up to approximately two hundred kids a year. The institute that we're going to is only one aspect of the ring. This is where some of the kids are sold to new parents, usually extremely wealthy people who can't have children of their own. They're also sold for labor, pornography, insurance - you name it. What we're doing is simple - get in and see how they operate. The cops have jack on these guys, so officially we're going to be getting information." She glanced at Logan, "However, our own agenda is somewhat different. We want to get those kids out, if it's possible at this point. For all we know, they could be being held somewhere out of the country."  
  
"The odds are in favor of the kids being at the same place that they bring the parents," Logan said shortly, making it obvious this was an argument they'd had before, "The easier it is to unload them, and, as with all stolen merchandise, you want to hold on to it for as little time as possible."  
  
"So we're pretty much faking it?" Alec questioned bluntly, "We're going to go in, see what we see and then decide what our move is going to be?"  
  
"Pretty much, yes." Logan slowed down and turned in to a newly paved drive- way. "These are kids, innocents, and we're only going to lose more unless somebody does something. The police have their hands tied and while they're wading through bureaucratic red tape more parents are losing their children. We can do something to stop this, to save them."  
  
There was a moment of silence and then Alec clapped his hands, slowly, mockingly, "Very nice, Logan. I was moved. Really. Even think I felt a little bit of a tear coming on." He brushed a finger dramatically under one eye.  
  
"Christ, you're such a prick." Max said in disgust.  
  
"Come now Max, is that any way to speak to the love of your life?" He demanded with a grin, "The man with whom you spoke sacred vows?"  
  
Max tumbled out of the SUV with a muffled shriek the second Logan stopped in the parking lot.  
  
Alec climbed out and stretched with exaggeration, examining the large office building in front of them with an interest he wasn't feeling. Perhaps the greatest irony of all was that Max would never know just how completely he agreed with her. He didn't even know why he said some of the things he did. They just tended to… pop out. Sure, with Max he taunted her because it was just plain fun. But Logan - he genuinely wanted to do good. He'd really meant all that gushy crap he'd just spewed. And as much as he annoyed Alec on occasion… or on a regular basis… well, he was a good guy.  
  
"Let me do the talking." Logan said as they walked in the front door, into a cool lobby with a competent looking secretary. He strolled up to the desk, eventually speaking into her phone, while the rest of them hung back.  
  
"You're never going to pass as a wealthy wanna-be father." Max said in a low voice, taking in Alec's cargo pants, T-shirt and leather jacket.  
  
"We'll have to be noveu riche," He replied, giving her black jeans and sweatshirt the same once-over.  
  
"Max and Alec Penn, I'd like you to meet Dr.'s Hansen and Miller." Logan said from behind them. "And this is my wife, Asha."  
  
The three turned, greeting the surprisingly pleasant looking doctors. It was strange how one always expected bad guys to be evil or ugly looking, as if you could tell by looking at them that they were in league with satan.  
  
Max ignored the twinge in her chest at hearing how easily "my wife, Asha" slipped off Logan's tongue.  
  
"Dr. Miller is our fertility specialist," Dr. Hansen was saying, "He's doing some remarkable work with In Vitro and gene splicing. I'm the resident psychiatrist, I'll be handling the more emotional and mental aspects of your stay."  
  
There was a delicate silence.  
  
Logan smiled, "I'm sorry. But… umm… is this a clinic?"  
  
"Yes, of course." Dr. Miller frowned, "You're not here for testing?"  
  
"Well, not really. We were interested in adoption."  
  
Miller's face cleared and he patted Asha's arm, "I see. Yes, part of our work is providing infertile couples with children. But that's only as a last resort. If, at the end of this weekend, we come to the conclusion that our medical science cannot help you, then we begin the adoption process."  
  
"I see." Logan, who's skills at hiding his emotions were seriously lacking, had his hesitation and uncertainly written all over his face.  
  
"I have a question." Alec said hastily, attempting to draw their attention, "You can really determine whether or not we're able to have children in one weekend?"  
  
"Well, we'll be using your past medical history mostly." Dr. Hansen answered, "Some of our research is… controversial, cutting edge, treatments. We'll determine, based on what you've already been through, whether or not we can help you."  
  
Max's mind was already jumping steps ahead. Shit. This was complicating things immeasurably. It may be best to cut their losses at this point. She glanced at Logan. These are kids, innocents. Double shit.  
  
She ducked her head shyly and slid an arm around Alec's waist, ignoring when he stiffened in surprise. "While all this is going on, do you think… maybe… since we came for them, we could meet some of the children." She gave her most innocent, wide-eyed look.  
  
The doctors exchanged an uncertain look.  
  
Alec's arm dropped across her shoulder, it's weight surprisingly pleasant. "It would mean a lot to us." He hugged her, not gently, to his side, "Maxie was really excited about this."  
  
Dr. Miller smiled at them, "I'm certain we could arrange something, Mrs. Penn. After all, this weekend is about you."  
  
"You're so kind." She dug her short nails into Alec's side.  
  
He grinned at the doctor and pinched her upper arm, "We're very excited about having a child together."  
  
* * *  
  
They were seated on a very comfortable love seat in Ben Miller's office. The good doctor was flipping through some files and frowning at his computer. Max and Alec were attempting to keep as much distance between them on the couch, without appearing too do so. It involved many evil looks.  
  
Logan and Asha had been taken away by Hansen, the couples would switch in an hour, being sure that both doctors specialties were sufficiently covered as well as privacy ensured.  
  
Unexpectedly Alec draped an arm across the back of the love seat and shifted closer to Max.  
  
"What are yo-" She hissed.  
  
"Nothing here is adding up." He pitched his voice well below any decibel the doctor would have been capable of detecting. "Why the concern with fertility? What do they care? And why the third degree psych evaluation? Why aren't they just unloading the kids?"  
  
"I don't know." She muttered back, trying to surreptitiously shift away from him. He was too close, it was… disturbing. "But that's not our only problem. How are we going to get a detailed medical history of our fertility tests? And how are we going to get through whatever they put us through without giving the game away?"  
  
"Logan and his noble fucking quests." Alec sighed, shifting his attention when the doctor cleared his throat pointedly.  
  
"Before we begin, can I get you a refreshment?" Miller spun in his chair and opened a mini-fridge. "I have water and some Coca-Cola."  
  
"I'm fine." Max said primly.  
  
"Man, hit me with one of those Coke's." Alec said enthusiastically, "Those things are seriously rare these days."  
  
"This should be relatively painless, Mr. and Mrs. Penn," Miller said comfortingly, once everyone was settled, "Just some pretty routine questions that I'm sure you've heard before. Unfortunately we seem to be having some difficulty locating your charts, so forgive me if I cover ground that has already been examined."  
  
"We're at your disposal." Max tried to ignore the warm length of thigh pressed against hers. Damn him, he had plenty of space, why'd he have to be taking up so much of hers. It was breaking her concentration.  
  
"I'm sorry I have to ask such a painful question, Mrs. Penn, but why exactly is it that you are unable to have children of your own?" The doctor asked softly, with just the right touch of sympathy.  
  
Max looked down for a moment, more to conceal the gleam of triumph that she was sure must be in her eyes, than any dramatic purpose. She put on her most tragic face, "It's my husband, Doctor." Deep breath. "He's impotent."  
  
Alec bolted upright, coughing and choking on his Coke.  
  
"There, there dear." She cooed, "There's nothing to be ashamed about. We've already come to terms with it."  
  
"It really is nothing to be embarrassed about, Mr. Penn." Dr. Miller said, "Millions of men suffer from it."  
  
"Yes, well," Alec cleared his throat, "It's still not something I enjoy talking about."  
  
The look he shot Max from under his long lashes would have pulverized a lesser person. She smiled benignly and patted his leg. Mentally she also readjusted her black opinion of this charade - damned if it wasn't the best idea Logan had ever had. 


	3. Revenge

I'm so depressed I can't even stand thinking about it. No Alec? How am I supposed to go on? No, don't thing about it, don't think about it…

Anyway, go do stuff people. We have to at least try to save it. This is where I've been going for info: http://adinfinit.net/danation or http://www.darkangelfan.com.

In the good news department, I aced that O Chem final and my Genetics final. *big cheesy grin* Now that they're over, hopefully I'll be getting these up faster. Thank you so much to all of you who told me how to do the html, I finally figured it out! Thank you, thank you, thank you, I'm so much happier now that it looks right. I'm sorry though, if it the content isn't up to par, this chapter feels kind of rushed and I'm afraid I didn't do it justice, but I feel bad about going so long without updating.

* * *

****

Chapter 3 - Revenge

It wasn't until he ran into the foot of the bed that Alec finally let himself do what he'd been dying to do all day. He fell forward, bouncing gently on the soft mattress, and pulled a feather pillow over his head. Not for the first time in the past year, he cursed the day Manticore had re-captured Max and brought her kicking and screaming into his world. She was solely to blame for every bad thing that had happened to him - starting with the burning of the only home he'd ever known and ending with today's humiliation.

Impotent.

Christ.

He adjusted his weight to make the position more comfortable and relaxed as he shifted the pillow to underneath his head.

There was one thing he could say with absolute certainty. Whatever Manticore had done to his DNA, they had failed to remove the primitive male reaction that demanded he grab the nearest female and prove his manhood. He was mostly amused at the reaction in himself - such an exquisitely trained soldier still being prey to such an irrational emotion. It was also a suicidal emotion, being that the nearest female happened to be a dark haired, dark eyed ball of fire that would just as easily shoot him as look at him.

He could hear her moving around in the bathroom, doing whatever it is that girls always do in bathrooms. One of life's eternal mysteries. He wiggled his way up on the bed a little more and wrapped his arm around the other pillow, feeling previously tense muscles start to relax.

Jesus, what a miserable day. And they had more to look forward to tomorrow. Bright and early at seven am was when the tests began. Logan was currently forging medical charts for the four of them, a surprisingly easy task when one had a laptop and modem.

At least they had all made it through the two grueling interviews relatively in-tact. Asha and Logan had emerged from Miller's office with the story that Asha was sterile due to a bad case of measles when she was seven. He snorted into the pillow. He could just picture them, both striving to be the noble martyr in the marriage. _No, no dear, it's all_ my _fault we can't have beautiful, self-sacrificing children to follow in our footsteps_. He did have to admit though, that he liked their story much better than he liked his and Max's.

Impotent.

Christ.

Then Alec grinned, his eyes still closed. Thinking about that awful moment in Millers office also brought up the beautiful moment in Hansen's. She may have struck first, but he'd gotten his revenge, all right…

"Ben told me about your medical problem." Hansen said quietly. "I'd like to dive right in by talking about how it has affected the two of you and your marriage."

Max and Alec were sitting on opposite ends of a brown leather couch; the doctor was in his desk chair, pulled around so that he was seated between them at a 45 degree angle to both. A yellow legal pad balanced on his knee.

Alec groaned silently and slouched down further into the couch.

"Now Alec, there's no need to look so pained," Hansen said soothingly, "I know this may be a distressing topic, but I really believe that it needs to be addressed. Tell me how you're feeling right now."

__

I'm feeling like strangling the smirking girl next to me, he thought grimly.

Suddenly he sat up a little straighter, a delicious thought forming in his devious mind.

"How I'm feeling?" He repeated slowly, glancing at Max. "I feel… afraid."

Hansen smiled encouragingly, "That's good. Keep going - what are you afraid of?"

Alec fought to keep the grin from his face. "I'm afraid that…" He took a dramatic breath, "That Max doesn't love me anymore."

The smirk vanished from her face. In fact, he thought with delight, she looked decidedly ill.

"Why wouldn't Max love you?"

He lowered his eyes and added in a Lip Tremble for good measure, "Because. I'm only half a man."

"Oh, for the love of God!" Max yelled.

Alec raised his eyes to her forlornly, noting the furious clench of her jaw and the burning in her eyes. And yet she was utterly incapable of doing anything about it. Oh, this was going to be fun. So much fun.

"I take you think his fears are unfounded, Max?"

"The word I would use is _ridiculous_." She said bitingly.

"Now let's not start judging anything just yet," Hansen placed a hand on her knee, "Whether or not you agree with him, your husband is having these emotions and they need to be discussed. What are _you_ feeling right now?"

She looked so obviously torn that Alec had to swallow a snicker. "I'm… it's just… I mean… he's…" She trailed off, frustration vibrating off her.

"You see," Alec took a shuddering breath and pressed a hand to his mouth, "She can't even _deny_ it!"

"All right, let's get this answered once and for all." Hansen was taking this all very seriously, "Max, do you still love your husband, despite his medical difficulties?"

He'd heard of the common phrase, "If looks could kill" before, but for the very first time he was understanding just how literal that saying could be taken.

"Of course… I… still… L-L-L" She licked her lips nervously and then rushed through the rest, "Lovehim."

Hansen turned to him, "Alec?"

Alec turned his head away and attempted Dignified Sorrow, complete with his fingertips pressed to his heart, "Then why don't you ever _touch_ me anymore?"

The sound Max made was somewhere between a strangled shriek and a gasp. The look on her face was priceless. Absolutely, utterly beyond monetary value - something Alec never would have thought possible before now.

"What does that mean to you, Max?"

Her fists were clenched at her side, her knuckles turning white with the pain of restraint. "Oh, if he wants me too, I'll touch him all right."

Hansen frowned, "What's really going on here, you two? I'm sensing some very hostile undertones. Why are you so angry, Max?"

Alec smiled sweetly at her, "Yes Maxie-poo, why are you so angry? I'm only being honest with my feelings. The feelings I'm having about my unfortunate _condition_."

"And we're back at the impotency." Hansen said thoughtfully, "This appears to be a real source of strain between you both."

He was silent for a moment while husband and wife glared poisonous darts at each other. "Max," Hansen said suddenly, "Kiss your husband."

"_What!?_" They both turned to him, aghast.

"No, that's really not necessary." Alec backpedaled as fast as was possible, "Honest. In fact, I can suddenly feel my self-confidence flooding back. I'm a new man. Doctor, you're amazing."

"It's just a kiss, for Christ's sakes." Hansen replied irritably, "And I want to use it to make a point. Go on, Max."

She looked like he'd just asked her to saw off her own hand and then eat it. "Look-" She began faintly.

"Just kiss him, Max." Hansen put a hand on her knee, "And a real one, not a quick peck. You need to reassure him and yourself that you still have a connection."

"I know we have a connection." Alec babbled, "We're so connected that we finish each others sentences and taste each others food. I definitely don't need to be reassured of a connection. Just sitting here is really enough to cure me of any doubts I may have been having-"

Warm hands closed on either side of his face and he was jerked forward. In the next heartbeat soft lips were under his, pressing almost angrily. His hands instinctively came up and wrapped around her wrists.

Two heartbeats.

Their mouths clung for an endless moment. And his world narrowed.

He could feel her pulse fluttering against his fingertips. The light expulsion of breath against his face. The growing roar in his ears. His own heart speeding up. And most of all those lush, wonderful lips against his.

Three heartbeats.

He wanted to open his mouth. He wanted to open her mouth. He wanted a real taste of her. He wanted to know what she felt like laying on him. He wanted to wrap his hands in her hair and hold her mouth to his and never, ever, ever let her go again-

He jerked away in terror.

The world widened.

Dr. Hansen's jaw had dropped.

Max and Alec stared at each other - their stunned expressions quickly dissolving into their usual masks of annoyance and amusement, respectively.

"Well," Hansen sat back in his chair, a smirk spreading across his face, "I think we can safely say that my little experiment proved successful."

* * *

He was a bed hog.

She was so not surprised.

Max stood in the bathroom door, staring into the room in disgust. Alec lay sprawled across the Queen sized bed, and sometime in the past twenty minutes he'd changed into drawstring sweat pants and a loose T-shirt. She flicked off the bathroom light and walked to the bed. His pillow was bunched under his tousled hair and an arm was curled around her pillow.

"Alec." She hissed, nudging the mattress with her knee. "Alec, we're not sharing this bed."

He mumbled something indecipherable and then sighed, burying his face in the comforter.

"Alec! Dammit." She looked over at one of the recliners and sighed. She really didn't want to curl awkwardly into one of those; wake up with a crick in her neck and a bad mood. As a general rule transgenics didn't _need_ more than two or three hours of sleep a night. But it had been a long, very long, day and she _wanted_ a good nights rest.

Max glared down at the sleeping form in front of her. Well, she was certainly not going to let him of all people drive her out of a bed she had a right too. Sleep on the couch indeed, just who did he think he was? He'd probably planned it this way, he was probably faking sleep right now, expecting her to crawl, defeated, into a corner so he could have the whole damn thing to himself.

She was not quiet while climbing into bed. She bounced the mattress as much as possible, forcibly removed his arm from her pillow, and _accidentally_ kicked the leg that had strayed to her side.

And because his face was turned away from her, she missed the smile that curled his lips.

It was only when she was finally settled, eyes closed and ready for sleep, that The Incident popped to the forefront of her brain.

Max gritted her teeth. She had successfully managed to not think about that afternoon in Hansen's office, all day. _It was just a weird fluke_, she told herself, shifting uncomfortably in the bed. It had been a while since she'd touched anyone even remotely intimately, her body was just reacting the way it was designed to react. Her hormones didn't care that it was Alec she was kissing, they just knew that it was male. And really, could it even be called a kiss? One brief meeting of lips that, in all comparison, was pretty chaste. 

__

If a chaste kiss can make your insides to what they did honey, imagine what a real kiss could do.

Max rolled onto her stomach violently.

She would do no such thing, dammit.

She squeezed her eyes shut. Instantly her near-perfect memory conjured up the feel of his mouth. Those lips that were softer than any male lips had a right to be. 

Max buried her face in her pillow, it was going to be a long night.

* * *

TBC


	4. Softness and Heat

**A/N: Hi guys, sorry for the delay. Seems like I'm always apologizing for the delay, doesn't it? Here I thought I was going to start turning the chapters out faster and then I get unexpectedly isolated from the internet for two weeks. Ah well, it was probably good for my character. The good news is that I have a decent start on the next chapter. Also, though it's probably ill-advised, I've started another story. Actually, umm, two of them. I can't help it – they're just bouncing around in my head! But I'm being smart this time, my goal is to get at least half-way before starting to post, that way the wait between each chapter will be significantly less since they'll already be done, 'cause I know how much it sucks to be left hanging.**

**This chapter and probably the next are a little more serious, necessarily. It's difficult to deal with the end of ****Max**** and ****Logan****'s relationship in a realistic way and still maintain the humor. I think that's all I needed to say…**

***   *   ***

**Chapter 4 - Softness and Heat**

**Alec**** woke slowly. It was a strange sensation. Like a good soldier, he'd been trained to wake up instantaneously, alert and aware of his surroundings. But today he awoke languorously, relaxed and comfortable, surrounded by softness and heat.**

**The novel feeling didn't last long though. There was something warm and breathing pressed along his front, something very much alive and, if his senses didn't deceive him, something very female.**

**His brain sharpened immediately.**

**He never slept with the girls he… well, screwed, to be perfectly blunt. It was incredibly uncomfortable, having another body you had to share space with. He never got any sleep, always waking up whenever his bed partner moved or a limb brushed his. After two decades of sleeping alone, instincts alert for any change in his environment, sharing a bed was one of the most miserable experiences he'd had in the real world.**

**And yet there appeared to be someone else in his bed. Hell, in his _arms none-the-less. Slowly, he cracked his eyes open slightly and took in the sight through his lashes._**

**Max****.**

**Oh, dear. This… this was not good.**

**Immediately several possible scenario's played out in his head. ****Max**** waking up and tearing his arm from it's socket. Max waking up and kneeing him in a very painful place that, incidentally, her leg had excellent access to at the moment. ****Max**** waking up and throwing him across the room, possibly through the wall entirely.******

**Key in all his possible maimings though, was "****Max**** waking up". He opened his eyes and took stock of the situation.**

**Their heads were on the same pillow, he almost jerked in surprise at being able to see each individual eyelash laying against her cheek. His left arm was curled underneath her neck, the ends of her hair were actually tangled in a few of his fingers. His right arm was around her waist and his right leg was thrown over both of hers.**

**Interestingly though, her left arm was draped over him. In fact, her arm was _underneath his shirt. He could feel the warmth of her palm against his back. It felt kind of nice, now that he thought about it. Actually, everything felt nice. He was comfortable, despite being tangled up with someone else. Everything was languid and cozy, even the early morning light easing through the gap in the curtains. Despite all possible negative outcomes, he found he didn't really want to move. In fact, what he wanted to do was close his eyes, tuck her slightly closer, and go back to sleep._**

**Suicide.******

**So he sighed, tucked her closer and closed his eyes.**

***   *   ***

**Max**** awoke slowly as well, only to her this wasn't a new feeling. She'd been waking up like a regular person for ten years now. Even so, there was something especially nice about today. She'd forgotten the pleasure of being cuddled - of tight arms and warm, smooth skin and that dark, musky smell of man…**

**She froze.**

**In seconds her mind jumped to the night before – of climbing into bed, a bed shared with… oh, no.**

**She would have cursed if she'd dared to make a sound. Hell, she was afraid to breathe. Oh please dear God, don't let him be awake. She lifted her eyelashes slowly.**

**His blond, tousled head had somehow made it onto her pillow, she noted indignantly. But his eyes were closed and his breathing was deep and even.**

**The first thing she did was slowly begin to pull her arm out from underneath his shirt, away from all that smooth, warm skin.**

**He stirred briefly, sighing deeply and moving his head restlessly against the pillow. She froze.**

**When he was again still she slowly, slowly, slowly inched her leg from where it was tucked between his. The feeling of her legs sliding intimately against his was strangely… pleasant. Sort of. In a weird, tingly kind of way. She shied away from the thought, instead concentrating on moving out from underneath his arm without jostling him.**

**It was slow and painstaking, moving only centimeters when what she really wanted to do was hurl herself away from him and the strange things he was doing to her stomach.**

**Max**** breathed a small sigh of relief when her legs were clear and the only thing left was to stand up without moving the bed unnecessarily.**

**She glanced up to make sure he was still asleep and instead encountered a highly amused, very awake ****Alec****.**

**"Was it as good for you as it was for me?" He murmured teasingly.**

**His eyes were dark green today, ****Max**** noted absently, staring into them, only inches from her own. She could hear pipes running somewhere and cars distantly driving by. Everything felt very still to her, as if they were in a bubble of suspended time, with the world moving along around them. And something about the moment, the familiar half smile on his face, the feeling of waking up enfolded in safety – and she wanted to lean forward and kiss him. Slowly, gently, so as not to disturb the fragile instant.**

**"I need to take a shower." She said instead, using the sound of her own voice to pull her from whatever mental abyss she'd been about to jump from. Turning ****Max**** scrambled off the bed, stubbing her toe in her haste and swearing.**

**"****Christ****, calm down." Alec rolled to his back and stretched his arms above his head slowly, "You're not going to catch a fatal disease just by being in proximity to me."**

**"I wouldn't be so sure about that," She snapped, falling back on anger when none of her other emotions seemed to be making any sense. "You were practically mauling me in my sleep."**

**"Me!" He jackknifed to a sitting position, "_You're the one who was attempting to remove my shirt."_**

**She ignored that, "I'm getting in the shower, kindly try to restrain yourself from barging in and ravishing me." She swept into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her and then sagging weakly against it.**

**Max could hear him moving around in the room, cursing under his breath and muttering rude things about women in general. She leaned her head back against the door and blew out a breath. Good God she must really be hard up for a lay if she was fantasizing about ****Alec****, of all people. Sure, he was passably attractive, but his annoyance-factor out weighed his looks by half.**

**Her inner skeptic snorted. _Sure, honey._**

**Alright, maybe only a quarter.**** Or an eighth.**

**_Face it – he's gorgeous._**

**She pushed away from the door and pulled the shower door open with more force than was probably called for.**

**_Drop dead, tongue hanging out, breathless, cream your panties gorgeous._******

**Funny how much her inner skeptic sounded like Original ****Cindy****.**

**Okay, yes, he was definitely gorgeous, but so what, he was designed to be so. They all were. Wasn't it that King guy who'd said something about judging people by the content of their characters? Well, ****Alec****'s character sucked.**

**She tore off her close and stepped under the warm water, closing her eyes and tipping her face into it. She couldn't possibly be attracted to someone so self-absorbed and annoying and arrogant and accident prone.**

**_Besides_****, she told her self, relaxing as the arguments made perfect sense, _you're in love with _****_Logan_****_ – you don't even _****like****_Alec_****_._******

***   *   ***

**Unaware his person was being thoroughly assaulted, ****Alec**** frowned at the choices on the battered soda machine. He'd stepped outside with the intention of getting something to drink and maybe seeing if Asha and ****Logan**** were up. He absently tapped his bottom lip with the room card - hmmm, the tempting choices they were faced with - bottled water, bottled water, bottled water or ohhhhhh, lime water. He made a disgusted sound low in his throat and pressed the button for bottled water. What he really wanted was another of those icy Coke's the doctor had provided for them. There was really nothing like carbonated, sugary syrup to perk you up. Maybe he could break in tonight and take the guys refrigerator, how guarded could the office be after all-**

**The thought broke off as a muffled sound distracted him. He glanced up, looking around. There was nobody to be seen.**

**Which only made him more suspicious.**** He turned slowly, his eyes and ears sharpening instinctively, both picking up more sound and light waves in one second than the average human could in twenty.**

**Max was still in the shower, the water was still running in their room; the truck that had just zoomed by had expired plates and the license number 144-**

**There.**

**He spun to the left. A muffled cry had come from the last room of the row. He was running before he'd finished the thought. ****Logan**** and Asha's room.**** In the few seconds it took for him to get there multiple possibilities had already flashed through his mind. Somehow they'd been discovered and they'd gone after those two first. They were being questioned right there in the room. Tortured. Mutilated. Tied up.**

**He was already in motion to knock the door down, body perfectly balanced for the round-house kick that would slam the door open, when the third cry penetrated the cold fear in his brain. This one wasn't as muffled. Wasn't as restrained. Wasn't… Oh, God.**

**It was only his reflexes that saved them all from total humiliation. His feline reflexes that had his weight shifting down and away, spinning on a millisecond in a way that no human should have been capable of doing. But his momentum was too great and even Manticore soldier's couldn't combat the basic rules of physics. He belly-flopped to the concrete. **

**But it was a graceful belly-flop, he thought with an internal grimace, moments later.**

**He was breathing too hard for the occasion. He could run fifteen miles without becoming winded - that chintzy little martial arts dance a moment ago shouldn't have even put a dent in his stamina. No, he was breathing too hard for another reason.**

**Slowly he pushed himself to his feet and turned toward the door that was the cause of all recent trouble and the growing glow of anger in his chest. Now that he knew what was happening behind it he couldn't help but hear - the same way you can't help but look with horrified fascination at the scene of a car wreck.  He could hear the breathy moans that Asha was making with increasing force and he could hear ****Logan****'s primitive grunts. _It's enough to make you lose your appetite, _****Alec**** thought with distaste. Part of him really wanted to barge through the door - to saunter in, stop in mock surprise, put a hand over his mouth dramatically and say-**

**"****Alec****, what are you doing?"**

**He head snapped to the left and he stared dumbly at ****Max**** for a long second.**

**She stood outside their door, her hair wet and hanging down her back, bare feet, black sweats and looking so heartbreakingly young that it felt like something had cracked open and was slowly bleeding inside his chest.**

**_What am I doing? I'm about to watch your world crumble_****.**

*******

**TBC**


	5. End Fairy Tale

**Chapter 5 – End Fairy Tale**

**"Hey, Max." He answered casually, sticking his hands in his pockets and sauntering towards her. Better to keep her as far away from the room as possible. "Just getting something to drink."**

**"In Asha and ****Logan****'s room?"**** She asked skeptically, leaning on the door-jam.**

**"I was gonna ask them if they wanted something, since I was out here." He answered easily, deliberately not thinking about how easily the lies were rolling off his tongue. Another little gift from Manticore.**

**Max**** watched her fellow X-5 walk to her, pausing at the vending machine to slide a dollar in. Something was wrong. Between the time she'd gotten in the shower and the time she'd gotten out, something had changed with him. She didn't know what, or how she knew. Unlike everyone else in her life, ****Alec**** was nearly impossible to read. He always had been. Most people didn't even realize there was substance beneath the cocky grin and ready laugh, she herself forgot most of the time.**

**But there was coolness in his eyes now that was incongruous to the ****Alec**** she had gotten to know, despite both their efforts. Not a cruel coldness, just a withdrawing of warmth, the same retreat she had felt during the horrific Berrisford incident.**

**She straightened and headed for him. He tensed immediately and she swept her gaze to the surrounding forest and parking-lot. Were they being watched? Was he unable to communicate because he didn't want their pursuers to know they were onto them?**

**Max came to a stop next to him, almost touching his arm as he reached down to grab the two waters. She watched his face closely, looking for some kind of signal. He cocked an eyebrow in irritation, "What?"**

**Why wasn't he doing something? They were fully capable of having an entire military conversation using only hand signals. He could at least dart his eyes in the direction of the enemy.**

**"Come on," he grabbed her upper arm and turned her towards their room, "We need to plan today."**

**Alec**** wanting to make plans?**** Her suspicious multiplied.**

**"Hey," She jerked her arm out of his grip, "What's going on?"**

**He looked puzzled, "Nothing's going on. Jeez Maxie, you're really getting paranoid in your old age."**

**And then he did it. As he turned away, his eyes flickered briefly, involuntarily, towards the end of the row. To the last room. And she read the relief in that three second gaze.**

**She froze.**

**Her hearing sharpened in an automatic parasympathetic response. Before she could decide whether or not she really wanted to hear.**

**Wordless cries of ecstasy. A tell-tale rhythmic thumping. Low, keening moans. And a name that was not hers being gasped over and over again.**

**Something small and gentle inside her withered soundlessly.**

**"Max…" ****Alec****'s voice was uncharacteristically soft and her eyes locked onto his shuttered green ones. Their battle of wills was silent and fierce and they both tensed, knowing that the advantage was going to be one of only seconds.**

**To an observer it would appear that they moved simultaneously, at the exact same moment. Not true. Alec moved first, ****Max**** a breath behind. As a result he got to the door first, pressing his hands into the door jam and blocking it with his body.**

**Max**** grabbed his leather jacket in both hands and jerked him close to her, "Move your ass right now, or I'm going through it."**

**"Quite a shame," He sighed, "Because I have such a fantastic one."**

**"****Alec****!"**

**"Max, I understand your anger and believe me, there's nothing I'd like better than to watch you go in there and work his scrawny ass over." He gave her a hard look, "But this is not the time nor the place for a big emotional confrontation."**

**"It's as good a time as ever, now _move!"_**

**"All right."**** His easy acquiesce made her instantly suspicious. "But first let me inform you of a little fact you seem to have forgotten." He motioned to the room behind him with a jerk of his head, "As far as ****Logan**** is concerned, you and I are back in our room doing exactly the same thing."**

**The simple logic of it was staggering. Her fury, most of it anyway, shriveled and caved like a deflating balloon. Of course he hadn't betrayed her, there was nothing left between them to betray. She herself had made sure of that.**

**But she knew that there was nothing between her and ****Alec****,**** knew that he was merely her shield to protect her from herself, from giving in to ****Logan**** and putting him in even more danger. In her heart though, she had thought of all this as temporary. Once the virus was gone she could remove ****Alec****, go tell ****Logan**** she had never stopped loving him and then they'd get their fairy tale.**

**Only ****Logan**** wasn't in on her little plan for them. He believed they were over. Forever. He was moving on, obviously. He wasn't going to wait for her like she'd expected, even if it was only a subconscious expectation.**

**He wasn't going to wait for her.**

**Something hot was burning the backs of her eyes and fine tremors seemed to be running down her spine. She didn't see anything in front of her, except her own gullible stupidity. It was really over. It was really over for good.**

**"****Max****." Alec again, his voice gentle.**

**She looked up sharply, "I don't want your pity, ****Alec****." Throwing back at him the words he'd once thrown at her.**

**He looked startled and then faintly amused, "Pity you, Max? I would never dare."**

**She nodded once and then turned and headed back to their room, "Come on, we've wasted enough time. We have to figure out what our objective is going to be for today." Had she turned around she would have seen ****Alec**** watching her, a proud half-smile on his face. "Atta girl." He whispered.**

**Then louder as he followed, "Hey, I'm loving the drowned rat look Maxie. I really think you should sell the idea to that ****Klein**** guy."**

***   *   ***

**Half an hour later, ****Max**** was pacing the floor in front of the bed, turning over ideas in her head and then rejecting them. Alec, fresh from the shower, was sprawled in the corner of the little couch, an arm draped casually along the back.**

**"I still say we're going to have to separate." He commented, drumming his fingers lightly against the soft material beneath them. "That facility is huge and we're going to be working within a very tight time frame, to cover more ground we're going to have to split up."**

**"You still have yet to explain just _how we're going to get that time frame." She shot back, "All day yesterday we were surrounded by people, being herded around like cattle."_**

**"Come on ****Max****, don't be so hard on yourself," He said magnanimously, "Sure you've put on a few pounds, but-"**

**A knock sounded at their door. In two strides Max was at it, pulling it open, "You have excellent timing," She said through gritted teeth, "You've just saved Alec from finding out first hand just how high is pain threshold is."**

**A startled Asha and ****Logan**** shifted their gazes automatically to the subject of her rant.**

**Alec**** smiled widely.**

**Max**** closed the door behind them and as it clicked shut she belated remembered the mornings scene outside their door. She never would have pegged ****Logan**** for such a moaner.**

**Asha**** and ****Logan**** sat on the bed and instantly and awkward silence settled in the room. Guilt was fairly radiating off the two of them, making the room feel suddenly cloistered and small. ****Max**** wasn't sure what she was feeling. Everything was still too mixed up, the lines between her head and heart tangled and mis-firing. She needed time to sort through things, have a good sob-session with OC and find perspective. Unfortunately she wasn't going to get that as long as they were out in the middle of nowhere on an undercover rescue mission. The only thing she could say for sure that she was feeling right now, was hurt. And whether or not she had any _right to feel that way, didn't change the fact that she did._**

**It was said hurt that drove her to her next destination. She flopped casually down next to ****Alec**** on the couch. _Right next to Alec, settling against his side curling her legs underneath her. She felt him stiffen but ignored the reaction, he was well trained enough not to let his reaction show on his face and that was all that was important._**

**"So," She asked casually, "any ideas on how we're going to search the place today?"**

**"Actually," ****Logan**** reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a sheet of paper. "When I hacked into their system, I found their itinerary for us for today. It looks like they've decided that you and ****Alec**** aren't beyond medical assistance. Item three on your itinerary is Enclosed Coupling."**

**Max felt her jaw fall open, "_What!?"_******

**Alec**** began laughing.**

**Logan**** ignored them both, "It lists both Dr.'s ****Hansen**** and Miller as being present for that particular experiment. At the same time, Asha and I are scheduled for Grief/Closure Counseling with a ****Nurse ****McCloud****. Now it seems to me like if you two can keep ****Hansen**** and ****Miller**** occupied, that's the best chance we're going to get to snoop around."**

**Max elbowed Alec in irritation, "Stop laughing, you idiot."**

**"Oh, ****Christ****, Maxie."**** He leaned his head back against the couch, eyes closed, a grin still on his face, "First Manticore and their breeding program, now some loony doctors and their "Enforced Coupling". Everybody wants us to do the horizontal tango for them."**

**"Unfortunately, this time you may not be able to trick your captors."**

**Alec****'s grin faded and he lifted up his head.**

**"What?" ****Max**** demanded.**

**Logan consulted his paper, "According to this their going to be giving ****Alec**** an experimental drug called Beta-Alphanine."**

**"Experimental drugs?"**** Alec looked at him in disbelief, "You've got to be kidding. No damn way I'm taking any experimental drugs."**

**"We've never even heard of it." Asha finally spoke up, "It definitely hasn't been approved by the FDA and none of the preliminary testing has been reported in any scientific journals."**

**"Who knows what it's going to do to him." Logan pulled out another sheet of paper, "These guys don't strike me as the type to play with anything mild."**

**"It's my husband, Doctor," ****Alec**** mimicked in a mocking falsetto, "He's impotent." His voice dropped back to normal, "You and your brilliant ideas, ****Max****. I swear to God, if I end up with a permanent hard-on for the rest of my life…"**

**"Well, whatever you have to do to keep them occupied for a good half-hour." Logan commented idly, continuing to scan the papers.**

**"_Whatever I have to do…" Alec's voice rose and he leaned forward, pointing his finger threateningly, "Listen buddy, there's isn't a cause on this entire green earth that would be worth risking the family jewels."_**

**Max reached out and pushed his arm down, "Calm down. Look, we'll think of something, okay?" She turned her attention to ****Logan****, "Do you have an idea on where to look, or are you just going to be running blind?"**

**"Last night I brought up the blue-prints for the entire facility. We have a pretty good idea where the kids would be kept, assuming they're here. It's just a matter of scouting the area, looking for weaknesses in the security."**

**"I'd feel a lot better about this if ****Alec**** and I were doing the recon." She absently drummed her fingers against ****Alec****'s thigh as she thought aloud.**

**"Yes, well, we don't have the luxury of waiting for another opening."**

**"I think waiting is the best idea yet." A now sulking ****Alec**** muttered, "In fact packing up and going home is even better."**

**Everyone ignored him.**

**"You ready to do this?" ****Logan**** met ****Max****'s eyes.**

**"Let's go save some kids."**

***   *   ***

**TBC**


	6. Begin Enclosed Coupling

**A/N: I was a little apprehensive about writing this chapter, mostly because I knew I was going to have to get a bit graphic for their little fake sex scene. I've never written anything even approaching an R rating before and let me assure you it was every bit as difficult as I thought it would be. Every time someone walked in I'd snap my laptop shut and try to look as innocent as possible, despite the fact that I probably had a beet red face. So, forgive me if it's lame, I tried my best.**

**Disclaimer: Beta-Alphanine is a drug I made up off the top of my head. If there really _is a Beta-Alphanine it's totally a coincidence and I have no idea what the real one is used for. Also, I'm a bio major, not a doctor, so while all the information regarding ED and it's treatments is correct as far as I know (oh, except I don't know for sure if the chemicals are released in the hypothalamus – it seems a __likely place to me, but I dunno), the remedy that Miller and Miller administered is something that I made up and not all that realistic._**

**Chapter 6 – Begin Enclosed Coupling**

**Their plan, while not bad considering the circumstances, was still full of holes. There were a million places for things to go wrong, places were Asha and Logan were going to have to fend for themselves with no way of getting a distress call out.**

**Max**** was so occupied with analyzing the mission that it was awhile before she realized how quiet ****Alec**** was being. They'd been waiting for ****Dr.****Miller**** for about ten minutes, seated in an sterile, white room with only a metal table, two chairs and a large mirror along one wall.**

**She glanced at him sidewise, wondering if he was really so worried about what the drugs were going to do to him. His left leg was bouncing at a jittery rate, his hands curled tightly around the arm rests of his chair and his eyes were focused straight ahead.**

**She frowned, turning her head fully to stare at him. "What's wrong with you?"**

**No answer.**

**She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, "****Alec****."**

**His head whipped around and she met his eyes, the pupils so dilated they were solid black with a thin rim of green.**

**"What's wrong?"**

**He blinked, his eyes constricted again and he took a breath she hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Nothing."**

**"Nothing my ass."**** Max turned in her chair, "Look, the last thing I need is for you to wig out on me right now."**

**"Who's wigging?" He looked around slowly, "I see a definite lack of ****wiggin****'s**** in this room."**

**She didn't buy it for a second. He was still too pale and a fine layer of sweat had broken out on his forehead, but she didn't have time to find out what had put that haunted look into his eyes.**

**The room they were in was steel enforced, leading the inhabitants to believe it was sound-proof, but ****Max**** was willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that it was bugged. The mirror was obviously double-sided, which meant it was entirely possible they were being watched. And if someone was watching, they'd be wanting to hear as well. She wondered uneasily if this was were they were going to administer the drug.**

**"Ah, Mr. and ****Mrs.****Penn****, good morning, good morning."**** Miller swept into the room, a wide smile on his face. "I'm sorry we're running late, there was a bit of commotion over in the counseling center."**

**Max**** and ****Alec**** exchanged a look.**

**"Today we have something that we'd like the two of you to try." ****Miller**** leaned his hip against the table and set down some folders. "It's a new drug of ours, very exclusive, not yet even available on the market. It's called Beta-Alphanine and so far has been extremely successful in treating Erectile Dysfunction."**

**Alec**** squirmed.**

**"Our theory is this – most drugs target the penis, they aim specifically to relax the smooth muscle that keeps the blood flow restricted. When the muscles relax, blood flow increases and you have an erection. Unfortunately, this method is less than desirable for several reasons. One, it often involves penile injections, which-"**

**Max**** thought ****Alec**** was going to fall off his chair. "Now, wait just a minute," He began hoarsely.**

**Miller held up a hand and smiled, "Don't worry, Mr. Penn, that's not our way of doing things."**

**Alec**** slumped down, "Oh, thank you sweet ****Jesus****."**

**"You're such a baby." ****Max**** muttered.**

**"Oh right, because I don't want a needle the size of the Challenger being jammed in my dick."**

**"Stop being so melodramatic, it's probably just a tiny pinch, you'd hardly feel anything."**

**"Good point, I probably wouldn't feel much more than I did that time you _kicked me in the nuts, because that was certainly not much more than a pin-prick."_**

**"Well, if you had just thrown the fight like I asked, then the ass kicking wouldn't have been necessary!"**

**"It wasn't my ass that you kicked, ****Max****!"**

**"As I was saying," ****Miller**** said loudly, hastily intervening before the glares could turn into something physical,  "Most men find penile injections horrifying. Two, these injections are a one shot deal, so you have to do it each time you want to have sex, which can really ruin the mood.  So we aimed a little higher in our research. Arousal starts in the brain, for both men and women. There is a chain chemical reaction, called a metabolic pathway, that must take place in the hypothalamus before any signals get sent to the reproductive organs. This metabolic pathway is very specific and when it gets to the end, the chemicals are released. Any disruption means that the reaction doesn't finish, the chemicals don't get released and you sir, do not get an erection, no matter how aroused you may be. This pathway is what our drug targets."**

**He stopped and beamed at them, as if awaiting a gold star.**

**"So, what do we do from here?" ****Max**** asked. She really didn't like not know what was coming. God, what if ****Alec**** really _did end up with a permanent hard-on?_**

**"Well ideally, we'll administer the drug, see if it takes hold and then, perhaps, leave you two alone." His smile managed to be suggestive without being lewd, ****Max**** was impressed.**

**"Quite the romantic setting."**** Alec said sarcastically, looking pointedly around the sterile room.**

**Miller**** winced, "Yes, for that I apologize. We normally have a much more comfortable space, complete with medical equipment in case something goes wrong, but that wing of the building has been closed off until the water damage can be repaired. Naturally, we have nurses standing by in case there is an emergency, but we've never had one before, the procedure is very safe."**

**"Will you, uh, be observing?" ****Max**** asked, glancing at the mirror.**

**"Oh, don't worry, that's not really a window," ****Miller**** smiled warmly, "We would never intrude on such a personal moment."**

**Max**** almost believed him.**

**He walked to the door and opened it, letting in a nurse who was holding two paper cups on a tray.**

**"All you have to do ****Alec****,**** is swallow this red pill." Miller held out the two cups, one containing water, the other containing said pill.**

**Alec**** hesitated and glanced over at ****Max****. She raised her eyebrows pointedly. "I better get the lay of a lifetime." He muttered, then grabbed the two cups and washed the pill down.**

**Miller**** beamed. "Excellent, excellent. ****Nurse ****Hammond**** and I will leave you alone now. We'll return in an hour to see how things are going. If there is a problem, even if you start to feel woozy, press this button." He pointed to a what looked like a doorbell next to the door. "We'll come running."**

**Alec sat down in one of the chairs and ran a hand down his face, "Yeah, okay."**

**Then they were gone.**

**"How do you feel?" ****Max**** asked immediately.**

**He shrugged, "Alright. A little warm, but that could just be the room."**

**She walked over to the mirror and combed her fingers through her hair, studying it critically, "I need a hair-cut." Then she pretended to rub a smudge off the mirror. Her finger and the reflection of her finger didn't meet. _It's not a window, my ass, she thought sarcastically._**

**Turning, she leaned her back against it casually. She held her right hand close to her chest and made a fist, then held up two fingers, made another fist and then held up four fingers horizontally while keeping her thumb tucked to her palm.**

**Alec**** gave the barest of nods to indicate that he understood they were being watched and probably listened too. Which meant that any conversation was going to have to take place several decibels below what human hearing was capable of. Then he took off his leather jacket, draping it over the chair.**

**Max**** wondered what Asha and ****Logan**** were doing. She leaned her head back against the cool mirror and closed her eyes, visualizing the blue-print of the compound. Assuming they had successfully gotten out of their counseling session, they were probably en-route to the east wing, where ****Logan**** suspected the children were being held. It would probably take them another ten minutes to get there unnoticed.**

**A warm hand cupped her chin.**

**Her eyes flew open.**

**Alec**** stood in front of her, his breathing so heavy she was startled she hadn't noticed it. A half-smile was on his face and it wasn't entirely sane. His eyes were burning.**

**"****Alec****?" Her voice wasn't quite the intimidating roar she'd hoped for. In fact, it was very small.**

**"You smell incredible." He murmured and then his mouth came crashing down on hers. She was so shocked that she failed to react as fast as she should or could have. His hand gripped her chin firmly and with the mirror at her back there was far too little maneuvering room.**

**Not to mention their little audience.**

**She tried to swear in her head, but her brain kept getting side-tracked by the warm lips on hers.**

**"****Alec****!" She tried again, this time with power. But the second her mouth was open, his tongue was in it.**

**Electricity sizzled through her, burning a hole straight at her core. His mouth was cool, quite a contrast to the heat that was radiating off him and he tasted the way  feels. She gripped his hair, feeling the butter soft strands curl around her fingers; the cold mirror at her back, and told herself she was doing this to buy ****Logan**** and Asha time.**

**His hands slid down and gripped her hips, swinging her around and onto the table. She pulled away with a gasp, pushing against his shoulders, "****Alec**** wait, I think it's the drug…"**

**She trailed off as he pulled his t-shirt over his head and tossed it behind them. Her mouth began watering. He was leanly muscled,  built for strength and speed, and lightly golden all over.**

**He also wasn't thinking clearly.**

**In one gracefully executed motion he pushed her down on her back and vaulted onto the table, straddling her hips. She grabbed his wrists as he yanked the zipper of her sweatshirt down, baring the white tank top she wore underneath.**

**"****Alec****, listen to me-"**

**His lips closed hotly over a nipple.**

**Whatever she'd been thinking was instantly washed away by molten lava. Her back arched reflexively and a strangled gasp ended her sentence. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think, could only feel each tug deep in her stomach. She looked down when he pulled away, switching to the other side, leaving a wet circle on her shirt, and the sight of that tousled blond head bent over her fully clothed breasts was quite possibly the most erotic thing she'd ever seen.**

**"****Alec****, you have to stop." _Oh, God please don't stop. "You're not thinking clearly."_**

**He nuzzled her neck with his lips, "Must mate." He rasped, his voice very caveman-like, "Must have sexual intercourse. Must hump leg…"**

**She went very still.**

**He lifted his head up and crouched over her the way he was, with his back blocking them from the window, he grinned. It was his usual shit-eating grin, complete with laughing eyes and a distinct red pill gripped between white teeth.**

**Had ****Logan**** and Asha's lives not been dependent on their little performance today, it all would have been over in that moment. She would have killed him. Would have gladly strangled the life out of those glowing eyes and then kicked the carcass.**

**"You," She gasped in a whisper, "You miserable-"**

**"Now, now, Maxie, no name calling."**** The pill disappeared back inside his mouth. "We're madly in love, remember. We're trying to have a beautiful child together." She wouldn't have thought it possible, but his grin widened even further, "So I think it's time we got to the good stuff."**

**He stood up, lifting her with him and swung her around. On either side of the mirror there was a space of wall about three feet long before it encountered the ninety degree angle of the perpendicular wall. It was against this expanse, the only place in the entire room where the doctors couldn't see them, that he pressed her.**

**"I'm going to kill you," She hissed, wrapping her legs around his waist only because it was the most comfortable position. "Tonight while you're asleep I'm going to smother you with a pillow. Better yet I'll knock you out and then stick your head in the toilet. Or maybe-"**

**"I'm moved by your dedication, Max, truly I am," He leaned back slightly, now that her weight was more evenly balanced, "But those doctors are going to get suspicious if you don't start screaming."**

**"I think it's more realistic without me screaming. In fact, I should probably be yawning."**

**"No, no, see, with a stud like me-"**

**He didn't get to finish his sentence. With the sweetest smile she was capable of, ****Max**** leaned over his shoulder, put her lips against his ear and screamed orgasmically.**

***   *   ***

**TBC**


	7. Dogs, Pavlov, and Drool

**Ya'll can thank Emerald Blue for this chapter. With FFnet down I'd seriously spaced on the story - she emailed me, reminding me that it existed and was still unfinished. Sorry guys, my bad. Also, I mixed up my doctors in the last chapter, so I went back and fixed them, if things are confusing.**

**There were quite a few of you who wanted the "sex" scene to be longer – to those I grin knowingly and say: Be patient my young padawan's, this is only the beginning.**

**Chapter 7 – Dogs, ****Pavlov****, and Drool**

**Fifteen minutes later his head was still ringing.**

**Dr. Miller's mouth was moving, his normal, polite expression had disappeared and in it's place was an excitement that only a father can feel for a successful offspring. ****Alec**** was half expecting the man to hug him. It would be nice, he thought idly, if he knew what the good doctor was saying.**

**His gaze shifted to ****Max**** – ****Christ****, the girl had a set on her. And strangely enough he wasn't referring to the flesh that filled out her t-shirt so nicely… his eyes instinctively dropped. She'd zipped up her sweatshirt so that the evidence of his manhandling was covered, but he smirked anyway.**

**He raised his eyes back to her face just in time to see her furious scowl and see the flash of her hand before it smacked against the side of his head. His ears made a faint popping sound, like when you yawned on a plane, and sound suddenly filled his head.**

**"****Alec****!" Yep, her voice was just as shrewish as he remembered, "Stop staring at my chest."**

**It was with some surprise that he realized that during his perusal of his companion, the doctor had left the room.**

**He gave her his most innocent, bewildered look, "Max, I would _never do something so crass. I was merely contemplating your impressive lung power – I can't help that your lungs just happen to be situated beneath your breasts."_**

**Luckily he was saved from having to hear her reply by the reappearance of the bouncy ****Dr.****Miller****, "This is all just so wonderful!" His grin threatened to split his face right down the center, "We've never had such an immediate and powerful response – I could hear you from down the hall, if you don't mind my saying."**

**He shuffled the papers he had brought in with him and sat down at the table, "If you don't mind, I'd like to ask a few questions about your experience. Please, sit, relax."**

**Alec felt a twinge of something that might have been guilt, but he wasn't sure, guilt wasn't an emotion he'd had a lot of experience with. If only the guy wasn't so freaking nice, then he wouldn't have to feel bad about screwing up his experiment. Of course, he reminded himself, these people were stealing and selling children… but dammit if something just didn't feel right about the whole bloody thing.**

**"Did you feel you had full control of your orgasm, ****Mr.****Penn****?" The question jerked ****Alec****'s mind back to the table.**

**He blinked, "Huh?"**

**"We worry a bit about premature ejaculation with ****ED**** treatments," ****Miller**** explained, "But you didn't experience any control problems?"**

**"Absolutely not."**** He was however, having trouble with the instinctive testosterone swell that accompanied every suggestion that he was anything but a prime, ferocious, magnetic sex machine. The mere thought of premature ejaculation being added to his already far too long list of performance problems made his muscles tense with the need to hit someone. "No control problems what-so-ever. I could have held out for hours longer if I needed too."**

**Max**** rolled her eyes.**

**"Excellent," He consulted his papers, "And you ****Mrs.****Penn****, did you notice any differences in your husband? Today's experience compared with past ones?"**

**"Not really, no." She said carefully, "With the obvious exception of the fact that it didn't take three hours for him to get it up."**

**"Hmmmm."**** He scribbled for several seconds. "And what about after-effects, ****Mr.****Penn****?**** Did the erection maintain for an unusual amount of time after orgasm?"**

**"Nope, no problems there either."**

**Miller glanced up and there was, for the first time in their acquaintance, a faint gleam of suspicion in his eyes. "I must say these results are quite extraordinary. I'll have to run several more tests of course, but you appear to have made a full recovery ****Mr.****Penn.****" The suspicion tripled. "I've never seen anything like it. Ever."**

**Alec swallowed hard, but before he could fumble through an implausible explanation, Miller suddenly bounded up and flung open the door. Dr. Hansen stood outside it, grinning from ear to ear.**

**"You!"**** Said Miller and then suddenly he was grinning too.**

**Max**** and ****Alec**** stared at each other. Things had just taken a very strange turn. They didn't know where that turn was or where it was going to lead, just that it was very, very strange. ****Alec**** wondered uneasily if both these guys weren't maybe missing a few important neural connections.**

**"You bastard, I should beat the shit out of you." Miller said cheerfully, stepping aside so that ****Hansen**** could enter the room.**

**"It worked, didn't it." Hansen's grin faded slightly, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you ****Kevin****, but you know how bad you are at keeping secrets, and everything depended on them not being suspicious."**

**Jesus Christ, had this all been a set-up? ****Alec**** looked back and forth between the doctors. Taking them out right now would be no problem, but they still didn't have the kids.**

**"I'm afraid we've all been fooled, Mr. and ****Mrs.****Penn.****" ****Miller**** turned to them with a sheepish smile. "That red pill I gave you today was a placebo - nothing but a sugar pill."**

**The two transgenics stared at him dumbly.**

**"It was all my idea." Dr. Hansen held up his hands, "So please don't be upset at ****Dr.****Miller****. Based on what I had seen of your relationship and what ****Kevin**** had reported, there seemed to be quite a bit of repressed animosity. I believed that your problem was purely psychological." He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall, warming to his topic. "Unfortunately we lack the time for a thorough evaluation, so I tested out my theory by switching the pills when ****Dr.****Miller**** was out of the lab. You see, I think that your wife intimidates you, ****Mr.****Penn.****"**

**Alec****'s jaw dropped open and at the same time he heard a poorly smothered snicker from ****Max****. ****Hansen**** continued on blithely.**

**"You're both very strong willed people and that will probably always keep things lively, but underneath it all Alec, you believe that you need Max more than she needs you. You're desperately in love with her, you probably always have been, but you never really believed that she loved you back. Sometimes you don't even think she likes you very much. This probably stems from many issues, one of them a lack of self-esteem, but I'd need much more time to get to the root of the matters. My point is this – your fear of not being loved by her, not being good enough for her, is crippling you. In many ways it's become a self-fulfilling prophecy, after all impotency has destroyed more than one good relationship."**

**It was quite possibly the first time in his entire life that ****Alec**** was at a complete loss for words. His mouth was still open, he was sure of that, but no sound was coming out. Instead there was a queer tightness in his chest, as if a steel band had closed around him, cutting off the air flow. Sitting there, no snappy retorts forthcoming, staring into ****Dr.****Hansen****'s compassionate eyes, he realized two things. First, that this was in no way the behavior of someone trying to foster off stolen children. Second, that he was going to have to kill the man. Just stand up, calmly walk over and snap his neck in two. Or maybe he could bash his head repeatedly into the wall, since that's exactly what if felt like had just been done to him.**

**Miller's eyes crinkled, "This may be the first time I've ever heard the two of you be silent for more than five seconds." He slapped ****Hansen**** on the back. "Come on ****Jim****, I think these two have a lot to talk about."**

**"You're both free to go back to your hotel if you like." ****Hansen**** said as they left the room, "But I'd like to begin a new session with you at one."**

**There was a strange, perfunctory silence in the steel table room after the doctors had gone. ****Alec**** was strangely reluctant to look at ****Max****. Everything ****Hansen**** had spewed had been wildly, insanely incorrect of course, but that didn't make the moment any less awkward.**

**"That was… interesting." She finally said haltingly.**

**"To say the least."******

**Max**** turned to him and there was a strange look in her eyes that he couldn't read.**

**"There's something really off here." He said abruptly, standing before she could say anything more. "I mean, why the hell are these guys so determined to solve our fertility problems? It's in their best interest to tell us that we'll never have children of our own and oh, hey, here's some nice adoptable kids we just happen to have laying around."**

**"I'm half tempted to just tie them up and beat the truth out of them." ****Max**** also stood, "In the meantime I suggest we use our two free hours for some old fashioned B&E."**

***  *  ***

**It was almost criminally easy to wander throughout the building. All they had to do was hold hands and smile shyly at the staff and nobody suspected a thing.**

**"They certainly aren't acting like they have something to hide." ****Alec**** commented after one nurse beamed indulgently at them.**

**Max didn't answer, but he decided that it was only because of the vow she'd made long ago to never speak to him unless to disagree or insult. They walked in silence for a little while longer, fingers comfortably laced, keeping an eye on the door numbers.**

**"Well, well, well." Max finally said, stopping in front of two large double doors. The word Records was discreetly etched next to them. "Right where it was supposed to be, how do you like that."**

**"****Logan**** comes through again." Alec was sure his sarcasm was subtle enough that she wouldn't pick up on the tone, but she shot him a sharp look anyway.**

**"Keep your mouth shut and eyes open." She knelt down in front of the doors and pulled two slim wires out of the interior of her jacket.**

**"Why do you get to pick the locks?" He complained, stepping into the middle of the hall and glancing both ways. Nobody was within sight. "I'm the one with ten more years of training." A slight 'click' was his only answer. ****Alec**** glanced over just in time to see her disappear into the dark room.**

**He refused to be impressed and just followed. His eyes adjusted instantly to the lack of light and by silent consent they both headed in different directions, Alec scanning the file cabinets while Max sat down at the computer.**

**He sighed as he opened the first cabinet, thinking about what they'd been doing half an hour ago. _That had been seriously more fun._**

***   *   ***

**Fun wasn't a word that ****Logan**** could remember having much experience with. He didn't consider it a priority, at the moment however he would have taken pretty much anything over the current situation. If the air between him and Asha became any more tense he'd be able to bounce quarters off of it. They'd been alright back at the Clinic - looking for the kids, blending in, scoping out security – but now they were back at the hotel with no more distractions.**

**He stared at his computer screen, not really seeing the words there. He could hear her moving around behind him, folding clothes or maybe making the bed. ****Logan**** cringed inwardly – the bed. The same bed where they'd had their naked wrestling match that morning.**

**He still wasn't entirely sure how it had happened. It was an unbelievably clichéd thing to think, but that didn't make it any less honest - he truly didn't see any cause and effect. One minute he'd been laying there in the dark, horrific visions of naked ****Max**** underneath naked ****Alec**** vibrating through his brain. The next minute he'd been waking up to sunlight and a soft, willing body.**

**Alright, so maybe a _little cause and effect._**

**The worst of it was the fact that he knew he was causing her pain. Afterward, when both of them had been laying on tangled sheets, breathing like they'd just run a 10K, she'd said his name, softly. For the past hour she'd been saying pretty much nothing but his name, but this was different, this was a question, one he didn't know the answer to. And so he'd merely stood and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. His shower had been very long.**

**Half a day later he still didn't know what to think, how to feel, what anything meant.**** He just knew that his silence was hurting her and he also knew that she wouldn't attempt to initiate a conversation about it again. She would suffer silently and wait for him to be ready.**

**"Asha."**** Her name so suddenly, so loudly, startled both of them. She whirled around, eyes wide.**

**Logan**** could only stare. He, who knew so many words, who'd scored almost perfect on the Verbal portion of the SAT's, who had never confused any of the 'to's' in his entire life – had nothing. There were no words because there were no thoughts, everything was a ragged jumble in his brain.**

**"I don't know." It was the most miserable sentence he knew, and he couldn't remember the last time he'd said those three words in conjunction to each other. But it was the only thing that was honest.**

**Asha's**** eyes softened but her voice was careful, "What don't you know."**

**"Us."**** He motioned awkwardly. "I don't know. I don't know anything. Not what it means, not why it happened, not where we go from here."**

**"Do you regret it?"**

**Did he regret it. ****Logan**** turned it over in his mind. He knew the right answer of course, knew what she wanted to hear, but he respected the other woman too much to patronize her. So, did he regret their morning of incredible sex? Did he wish it hadn't happened? He thought of ****Max****, thought of the guilt that been chewing him up that morning sitting in their hotel room. He didn't know why he felt guilty, ****Max**** was with ****Alec****, she'd moved on, it was perfectly acceptable for him to do the same.**

**It was the giving up, he realized suddenly. Sleeping with Asha was like finally admitting that he and ****Max**** were truly over. He wasn't going to pine any longer, wasn't going to wait for her to come to her senses. He was giving up on her ever coming back to him.**

**It was a disturbing realization, one that chafed at his martyr complex. But it also meant that he didn't have to regret that morning, because it hadn't been a betrayal.**

**"No." There was wonder in his voice, "No, I don't. But Asha…" He hesitated, searching for the least hurtful words, "I can't be more than your friend right now. I'm not…"**

**"I know, ****Logan****." Her eyes crinkled in a smile, a genuine one, "I know better than you do, in fact. Max meant a lot to you, she probably always will, and you need to figure out where you stand with that right now."**

**Girls were really very smart about these sort of things, he decided. Relief was washing through him, it was all going to be okay. And for the first time in a long time, he really believed it.**

***   *   ***

**TBC**

**A/N: I'm afraid I kind of rushed the little Logan insight at the end, maybe I should have lingered over it a little longer. I just have so much more fun working with ****Alec**** and ****Max**** =) Let me know how it reads.**


	8. Shot

**A/N: You guys are the best, the greatest, the most spiffiest readers _ever. Group hug everyone, group hug._**

**Chapter 8 – Shot**

**It was definitely the second to last place on earth that she wanted to be. Second only, of course, to Manticore.**

**Max glanced sidewise at Alec, who was seated on the love seat with her again, his knee doing it's nervous jiggly thing. This time he wasn't crowding her space, teasing her or baiting her - he was just sitting there.**

**She shifted slightly in her seat, resisting the urge to slouch. They were waiting on ****Hansen****, getting ready for a whole hour of his psycho-babble. The forage into the Records room had turned up some interesting clues, though nothing that was even beginning to unravel the many inconsistencies that kept popping up.**

**"Maybe they have evil twins."**

**Max**** turned her head and lifted an eyebrow. Alec wasn't resisting the urge to slouch, his feet were stuck out in front of him and he stared moodily at the laces. "It's the only plausible explanation," He continued, "The evil twins are in a hidden lair ferrying around stolen children, all the while pretending to be these two bumbling doctors. That way, when the feds or whoever come sniffing around, there's no trail, nothing to lead them to the evil twins because as far as the world is concerned, the evil twins don't exist."**

**Max**** blinked. "Been thinkin' about that one for awhile, haven't you?"**

**"Actually no," ****Alec**** looked extremely pleased with himself, "I just sort of made it up on the spot. Not bad, eh?"**

**"I am continually amazed at your awe inspiring powers of deduction."**

**The door opened and ****Dr.****Hansen**** walked into the room. The man had unnerving timing, ****Max**** thought in irritation, he always managed to head off fights.**

**"Max, Alec, I hope your little break was recuperative." His smile had a tinge of lasciviousness to it but ****Max**** found that she didn't mind, it was better for him to think they'd been having wild monkey sex than ferreting around in his records room.**

**"Very… recuperative."****Alec**** replied with a suggestive smile in ****Max****'s direction.**

**Hansen**** beamed. "Wonderful, wonderful. I'd like to begin this afternoon with your reactions to what happened this morning. I want to apologize again for deceiving you both, but I truly was acting on your behalf. ****Alec****, how did you feel?"**

**It was going to be a long hour. ****Alec**** settled himself more comfortably against the couch and prepared to have some fun. "To be honest I was quite taken back. I mean, here I thought I was suffering from some horrible physical incapacitation… crippled possibly for life… no foreseeable way out... doomed to lose all confidence in my manhood and in the process forsake the only woman I have ever loved."**

**Oh, that was good, he thought with delight. But wait, "No… the only woman I _will ever love. And then, to realize that it was all in my head-"_**

**"Oh, ****Alec****!"**** The half sobbed cry from ****Max**** broke his concentration and he lost his place. He turned to her in surprise, but before he could see her face she flung herself into his arms. "I had _no idea you felt that way!"_**

**All right, she's going way over the top, he thought in irritation, irked that his spot-light had been stolen. There was no way ****Hansen**** was going to fall for any of this melodrama.**

**"Go on, Max." The doctor was on the edge of his seat, "Tell him what you feel."**

**She went on to babble something about not ever leaving him, but Alec couldn't really hear what she was saying, his brain was having some sort of hiccup. A warm bundle of pure ****Max**** was currently in his arms, her head against his shoulder. Soft hair was brushing against his neck and cheek; smooth skin was rubbing against his; and it was wreaking havoc with his neural connections. His left arm had automatically wrapped around her waist and he could feel her shifting against him as she moved, feel her breathing and the vibration of her voice and it seemed like time was about to do that annoying slow-down thing.**

**Then her hand squeezed his bicep. Hard.**

**He blinked, and then she did it again.**

**It was code. Some rational part of his brain was struggling to force that thought through the hormone induced fog. It's code.**

**Another squeeze, this one longer.******

**One of the first things they taught you at Manticore was how to communicate silently. There were many ways to do this. One popular method was a stilted language of squeezes and pauses that was similar to the one Navy SEALS used. It was used primarily for underwater missions, when conversation was, obviously, impossible and because the language was rather limited.**

**Two short squeezes.**

**If he was translating correctly then she was saying something to the effect of Let's Get Out Of Here Now.**

**Curious.******

**He was unsure exactly how to get them out of the office though. He needn't have worried.**

**"Please doctor," ****Max**** stood suddenly, still clinging to his hand, "I need to be with ****Alec**** right now, we have so much to talk about."**

**Hansen**** looked doubtful, "Max, I think it's very important that-"**

**It was a subtle shift on her part - a slight pouting of the lips, some moisture in the eyes and a look of such pleading that she almost had Alec convinced that she was desperate to spend quality time with him.**

**Hansen**** didn't stand a chance.**

**"Oh, all right."**

**Alec half expected him to duck his head and say, "Now you kids go have fun and don't do anything I wouldn't do!"**

**Max**** dragged him out of the room and they weren't two steps down the hall before she exploded. "My God, I should be shot!"**

**It wasn't quite what he was expecting, but the opening was too good to pass up. "Anything you want Max, whatever makes you happy, you can count on me to fulfill your every dream."**

**"It wasn't an offer, ****Alec****. Now listen." She stopped and turned towards him, almost vibrating with excited energy. "All this time I was thinking that the man I talked to on the phone was ****Dr.****Hansen****. It wasn't. The man I talked to was ****Dr.****Hans_el_****." She shook her head, "They were so similar I just… like I said, shot. It was the first names that tipped me off. Miller called him Jim, the guy on the phone was ****Gregory****Hansel****."**

**Alec**** stared at her blankly.**

**She stared back. "Don't you get it? This changes everything!"**

**"How?**** So we know there's a third doctor guy involved, so what?"**

**She punched his arm, "All this time you've been saying how nothing feels right. How the actions of Miller and ****Hansen**** aren't conducive to the actions of child kidnappers. Well now there's no proof that they _are. Come on, we have to go talk to _****Logan**** and Asha, see what they found."**

***   *   ***

**Alec**** and ****Max**** were still arguing when they walked into ****Logan**** and Asha's hotel room without knocking.**

**"So you're taking back everything you've been saying the past two days." ****Max**** demanded.**

**"Not at all, I'm just saying that it's unrealistic to think that there could be a child smuggling ring operating here without Miller and ****Hansen**** being a part of it."**

**"You've really got to learn to go with your instincts more." ****Max**** shook her head and turned to ****Logan****. "What've you guys got for us?"**

**"Asha and I are of the opinion that the children have to be being held in the sealed off wing of the compound. The one that's supposedly under repair for water damage." ****Logan**** spun around in the cheap wooden hotel seat as if it were his exotic swivel chair at home. "It's the only thing we couldn't get into, the only place that we were unable to search thoroughly. If they're not there then I don't think they're here at all. What about you guys?"**

**Max informed them quickly of their trip to the records room and more importantly, her little epiphany.**

**Alec**** draped himself bonelessly across their love seat and eyed ****Logan**** with malicious glee. "So what's your excuse, Cale? Max has admitted that she's an idiot and needs to be shot, so we forgive her, but why didn't _you catch the difference between the names?"_**

**"I never actually spoke to anyone." ****Logan**** said stiffly, "It was all arranged by a contact of mine. To be perfectly honest, I never really expected ****Max**** to get in with the name and number I gave her. I didn't realize it was so easy to get accepted."**

**"Maybe it isn't." All eyes turned to Asha, who was tapping her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Maybe whoever was on the other end of that phone line knew exactly who we all were and exactly what we were looking for."**

**"Then he never would have allowed us to come." ****Logan**** answered.**

**"The best place to hide is in plane sight." She argued, "You don't build a brick wall, post an armed guard and tell everyone to keep out. That announces your pretense better than an advertisement."**

**"You're saying this is a front?" ****Alec**** was beginning to look interested. "They spread a rumor that this is their big secret hide-out, then let us have a look around. We come, find nothing, because there's nothing here, and lose interest in what was only a rumor to begin with."**

**"More or less, that's exactly what I'm saying." They smiled at each other, the two side-kicks, smug in their knowledge that they were the real brains behind the operation.**

**"So Miller and ****Hansen**** – they're exactly what they appear to be." ****Logan**** seemed to be turning it over in his head.**

**"I still think we should check out that closed off portion of the clinic." ****Max**** argued.**

**"You just don't want to admit that Log was wrong about something." Alec said lazily, "So he fucked up and dragged us out here on a wild goose chase, wasting time and money and inconveniencing the nice doctors who just want to do sadistic experiments on genitalia. It could happen to anyone."**

**Logan rolled his eyes, marveling, not for the first time, at ****Alec****'s ability to insult without truly offending the other party. He was mildly irritated with the comment, but not nearly to the degree that he should be, especially considering how important all his ideas were. Alec, he thought, could probably commit cold blooded murder with five witnesses and then talk his way out of it.**

**"You just want any excuse to leave." ****Max**** snapped, "Whichever answer is the most convenient for ****Alec****."**

**Unless one of those witnesses was ****Max****, ****Logan**** amended, tuning them out while they argued. She seemed uniquely resistant to his brand of charm, maybe a Manticore thing. Or maybe not. He clicked off that train of thought before it could develop further, he still didn't like thinking of them _together together._**

**"Compromise."**** He said loudly, drawing all eyes towards him. "I'm inclined to think that Asha makes a valid point, all evidence seems to support it. However, it's too late in the day to head home, we're going to have to stay the night anyway. We may as well investigate that closed off wing tonight, just as a matter of precaution."**

**"_We?"_****Alec**** snorted. "You mean ****Max**** and I will be investigating the sealed off wing, while you and Asha hang out here playing another game of Hide The Sausage."**

**It's interesting just how loud silence can be. It throbbed there for several agonizing seconds while Asha and ****Max**** paled and ****Logan**** turned a vibrant shade of crimson.**

**"So," ****Alec**** looked with interest around the room, "Anyone have any detailed floor plans of this closed off area?"**

***   *   ***

**When two people are climbing silently up the 70 foot sheer wall of a building that they intend to break into, in the dead of the night, harnessed together, lives on the line - there really needs to be an element of trust.**

**Alec, being that his partner in crime hadn't spoken to him in three hours, wasn't really feeling that trust.**

**Conversation had been cold and stilted while they examined floor plans and planned their entry. It had been practically non-existent while they packed their gear and dressed. And it had completely disappeared when they arrived at their surveillance point a quarter of a mile from the compound.**

**Now that they were three quarters through their ascension, he was really beginning to regret that damned snide remark about Asha and ****Logan****.**

**It would not be a stretch to say that ****Max**** was fairly radiating murderous hostility. And she was in front of him. He glanced uneasily over his shoulder. It was a long way down. Long enough that not even a transgenic could escape unharmed. It probably wouldn't kill him, but it would break some important bones and hurt like a son-of-a-bitch.**

**"So, okay, it's possible that my little sausage comment was out of line." He began in conversational tones. "In fact, I'll go so far as to say that it was tacky. I mean, "Hide the sausage"? I didn't even know I was _capable of such a crass analogy." He was silent for a moment, pondering the thought. "Though you have to admit that it was remarkably accurate for being so spontaneous a remark. I mean, it pretty much covers all forms of sexual activity." He swung his leg over the edge of the balcony on the seventh floor, "In every scenario the "sausage" ends up disappearing – whether it's into the vagina or mouth or-"_**

**Small but remarkably strong hands suddenly gripped the front of his jacket and he was shoved bodily against the wall behind them. Belatedly he remembered that he was supposed to be apologizing.**

**"****Alec****." Her voice was strangled, "I… You… Just…"**

**"Sounds like?" He offered helpfully.**

**She smacked him upside the head. It wasn't one of her more gentle smacks either.**

**"Just _shut __up." She hissed, "My God, you could drive the freaking Pope to commit cold-blooded murder."_**

**For the first time in a long time ****Alec**** made a wise decision – he said nothing, and simply followed her silently into the building.**

**The silence lasted exactly 1 minute and 17 seconds, ****Max**** counted every precious second of it. The words finally exploded out of him, as if the effort of holding them back was too great for even his revved up strength. "Look, getting the Pope to commit murder really wouldn't be that big of an accomplishment. I mean, he's Catholic, they love that burning at the stake, heathen's repent in hell for your eternal damnations, kind of stuff. Just look at the Inquisition. I bet in his room at the ****Vatican**** he's got an Iron Maiden that he sleeps in."**

**Max had been listening at each door they came too and then gently testing the door knobs, while he talked. She paused now outside a bright red door with a large yellow '2' written on it.**

**"You know, this place isn't looking too water damaged to me." ****Alec**** whispered, looking at their surroundings.**

**"So kind of you to abandon His Holiness and re-join me in our mission."**** She whispered back, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Now shut up, this one's unlocked."**

**They were absolutely silent as they slipped into the room. It was dark and shadowy, but their eyes had no trouble adjusting to the limited light. He watched as ****Max**** took several steps forward, then he gently closed the door behind him.**

**Overhead lights blinked on.**

**A bed on the far end of the room began vibrating.**

**Something large and heavy thumped ominously against the door.**

**A large screen television clicked on. A perky voice, attached to a perky blond on the screen, began talking to them.**

**Max and Alec only stood there, both having automatically falling into a fighting stance, staring around them in what could only be described as fascinated horror.**

**"Welcome Gaby and ****Nathan****, to our ****Tropical****Island**** Fantasy suite." Perky Blond said perkily, "You have chosen our Isolation Option. The door behind you has been automatically locked from the outside and will automatically unlock in exactly 24 hours. In case of an emergency please to not attempt to open the door, an alarm will sound and security will be called." She motioned in a very airline-stewardess-way towards the wall next to the TV. "To my left is a large yellow button, in case of an emergency simply push the button and your doctors will be summoned immediately. Enjoy your isolated day in our ****Tropical****Island**** Fantasy suite Gaby and ****Nathan****, and may you emerge with your relationship strengthened and whole."**

**Perky Blond flicked off.**

**The bed continued to vibrate.**

**Max**** and ****Alec**** stared at each other.**

**"It's probably redundant to check the door." ****Max**** said weakly.**

**"_Strengthened and __whole?"_****Alec**** said derisively.**

**"Focus!"**** She snapped, turning in a circle, examining the room. It was large, with only the one door and no windows. The walls were painted a vibrant yellow, with the furniture done in equally bright reds and greens. It was like stepping into the ****Dick****Tracy**** movie. Gauzy red curtains hung down around the… ****Max**** squinted… yes, yes the bed was in fact heart shaped. ****Jesus Christ****.**

**"On the count of three let's take out this door." ****Alec**** said, setting down the small knapsack he'd been wearing on his back.**

**"You heard the blond," ****Max**** pressed her ear against one of the walls, "Alarms and security. Neither of which are our friends."**

**"Oh, please – I'd like to see the day that we couldn't take out a few rent-a-guard's with our hands tied behind our backs."**

**"That's not the point." She knocked on the wall, moving down it as she spoke, "We came here for the kids, we can't get away from security and search the place for them at the same time."**

**"They probably aren't here anyway."**

**"Shit, steel reinforced." Max stepped away in disgust.**

**"To make it sound-proof."****Alec**** wagged his eyebrows suggestively.**

**She ignored him, "We can't leave without being sure they're not here."**

**"So what are you suggesting?" He asked slowly, "That we _stay in here until the doors unlock?"_**

**"Of course not, I'm saying we find another way out."**

**"Really.**** Do tell."**

**Max looked around again, this time more desperately. Locked in a room with no windows, effectively no doors, and walls that you couldn't punch through. They're training said that they should stay put until the door unlocked, nobody came into this wing, nobody would know they were here.**

**She looked across the room.**

**They stared at each other grimly.**

**Locked in a room together for 24 hours.**** It was the stuff of absolute nightmares.**

**TBC**

***   *   ***

**Or, in our case, absolute fun! I totally had all these good intentions about actually addressing the plot and starting to close up the story, but then I got this idea and it was too perfect and it's going to be so. Much. Fricken. Fun to write.**


	9. Unwanted Epiphany 1

**A/N: Oh God, I'm sorry you guys. Life has been so not conducive to fanfic writing. School is back with a vengeance, I had an employee file a lawsuit and I'm actually suffering from writers block. Yeah. Ugly. Every time I sit down to write I just draw blanks, it's awful. At no point however, do I want you to think that I've abandoned the story. Whether or not I've updated is irrelevant, I'm ALWAYS working, or trying to work, on it. I would never leave you guys hanging or anything (especially considering the email threats I've gotten from fans - my death would be slow and painful =)**

**Umm, also, I seem to have completely deviated from the path laid out by the challenge. I'm not terribly distraught by this – it was a good idea sparker, but the story's taken on a life of it's own now. I just really wish I knew where that life was going. I'm also not so sure about this chapter, it was so hard to write that I'm afraid substance was lost. But I'm posting anyway with the hope that you'll let me know how it came out. Be honest, PLEASE don't be afraid to say, "Hey look, that was kinda crappy." Well, maybe not that language exactly 'cause then I might cry, ;) but you know what I'm saying.**

**Last but not least, I'd like to thank my beta reader. I don't actually have a beta reader. I don't actually know what a beta reader is. But everyone's always thanking their beta readers, so I want to thank one too. Thank you to my beta reader ****Bob****, your assistance was indispensable and please tell me if you know where the hell this story is going.**

**Chapter 9 – Unwanted Epiphany 1**

**Hour 1**

**"****Max****, what time is it?"**

**"****Twelve ten****."**

**"Oh."**

**….**

**"What time is it now?"**

**"Still ****twelve ten****."******

**"You're kidding."**

**"Time, and the passage of such, is not something I would be joking about right now."**

**"Feels like an hour's passed."******

**"You're telling me."**

**"How long ago did we get stuck in here?"**

**"Seventeen minutes."**

**"****Jesus****H.****Christ****."**

**"Ditto."******

**Alec sat on the floor, his back against the door and his legs stretched out in front of him. He stared glumly at his hands, folded loosely in his lap.**

**Max was pacing a circle around the bright green couch in the middle of the room, her movements jerky and tense.**

**Things were not looking promising.**

**Then he spied the mini-fridge that sat on the far side of the bed.**

**"Food!"**** Alec rose to his feet, "I'll forgive them for everything if they've got a Snickers and a Coke in there."**

**"No." ****Max**** didn't pause in her pacing, but her voice whip lashed across the room. "You will eat nothing, ****Alec****, do you hear me? We're not going to leave any evidence that anyone was ever here."**

**He stared at her, "You've gotta be kidding me. No snacks?!"**

**She whirled to face him, her face taut with tension and her eyes snapping fire, "Do I _look like I'm joking?"_**

**He pretended to study her closely, "No… no, you _look like you've gotten a gigantic stick jabbed straight up your ass."_**

**Their eyes stayed locked as he slowly slid back down the wall to his previous sitting position. The tension rose another notch. ****Max**** resumed her pacing.**

**Hour 2******

**Alec stared blankly at the ceiling, wondering what cretin had chosen that particular shade of dewy pink. He'd been racking his brain for something, anything that they could do to pass the time.**

**"There's a hundred bottles of beer on the wall…" he began singing in his slightly off key bass. "Knock one down, pass it around, there's 99 bottles of beer on the wall…"**

**"Don't you dare even start." ****Max**** hissed, never breaking stride in her pacing. She'd deviated from her original path of walking a circle around the couch and was now making complicated figure eights around every piece of furniture in the room.**

**"So," he said with exaggerated patience, "I can't talk, I can't sing, I can't tap my foot, I can't check out the mini-fridge… can I breathe, oh wise one?"**

**"Absolutely not."**** She replied with fervor.**

**He ignored her, resuming his perusal of the ceiling. Her strides lengthened.**

**The silence lasted only a few minutes.**

**"Would you quit that goddamn pacing," ****Alec**** snapped, "It's driving me crazy and making me dizzy."**

**"Then close your eyes."**

**"I can still hear you."**

**"Then plug your ears."**

**"I'll still know your doing it. I'll see it in my head and then my imagination will take over and you'll start doing cartwheels and spins and that'll just make me nauseous and you'll go faster and faster in my head until I finally just puke all over this lovely puce carpet."**

**Max actually stopped for a moment, staring at him. "Are you sure Manticore wasn't experimenting with alien DNA when they made you?"**

**"Are you sure your DNA is female feline instead of female canine?"**

**Hour 3**

**Alec**** had given up any pretense of relaxation. He stood in the middle of the bed, jumping up and down almost rhythmically, watching Max pace at a half-run. She was setting his teeth on edge.**

**"I'm bored."**

**She glanced at her watch, "20 hours and 21 minutes to go – get used to it."**

**"So whad'ya think of ****Logan**** and Asha getting it on?"**

**She stiffened almost imperceptibly, "I don't think anything of it. It has no bearing on the mission."**

**"Oh come on, Max." He stepped down off the bed, his eyes taking on a calculating gleam. "It's just me – harmless ol' ****Alec****. We're stuck with each other for an inhuman amount of time – you can tell me the truth." He stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels, "Does it bother you? Kinda like a sucker punch in the gut?"**

**"Of course not."**** She rounded the couch. "****Logan**** is perfectly free to date whoever he-"**

**"Whomever."******

**Glare. "-chooses, it's over between us."**

**"It never really got started between you."**

**"And whose fault is that?"**

**"Hey, I wasn't even _here the first year you two knew each other. You just sat around eating salad and saving the city – whose fault is __that?"_**

**"We were just friends then, things hadn't progressed past the platonic level." She slowed, warming to her topic, coming closer. "By the time we were ready for more – enter ****Alec**** and his little virus and his little brain bomb."**

**Alec****'s eyes narrowed, his temper uncharacteristically flaring, just as eager as her for a fight. "You wanna do this? Fine, it's about time we had this out. First of all that damn virus was not mine - I assume you remember Renfro, right?"**

**"You delivered it." She shot back, "You let me infect ****Logan**** the first time; you were part of that sham of an escape I made."**

**"I was following _orders, _****Max****."**

**"Right, of course, orders - screw common decency."**

**"You act like common decency is something I'd had so much experience with. Do you really expect me to have thrown away twenty years of training and the only life I knew, on a crazy X-5 who kicked me the first time I met her?"**

**Max**** blinked, startled at his vehemence.******

**"You act like I had a goddamn choice in the matter."**

**"We always have choices." She said stiffly.**

**"Says the girl who didn't grow up at Manticore."******

**"This isn't Manticore, ****Alec****. This is the real world."**

**He turned restlessly, throwing himself backwards on the bed. "Reality is just as subjective as everything else."**

**They were both quiet, and having retreated into separate thoughts, the tension in the room seemed to ease for just a moment.**

**"Look, can't we just move on." He said it almost tentatively, "Nothing we do now is going to change what happened. Why don't we start over?"**

**"That was real touching, ****Alec****." She sneered, "Having an After-School Special moment?"**

**"Jesus Christ, I'm trying to end this shit between us! What the _fuck is your problem?"_**

**"I don't know how you've managed to escape the obvious, but _you are my fucking problem."_**

**"Yes, yes I am your fucking problem." Alec was barely aware of the fact that his voice was rising, all he knew was that a year of repressed resentment was finally being released. "And you know what Maxie, you do an awfully good job of making sure I stay that way."**

**Her eyes widened as he began stalking towards her, she had never seen him with such furious intent.**

**"****Alec-****" She began hotly.**

**"Every day it's something with you; every day I piss you off, every day you find some reason to yell or insult me, every day it's anger and bitterness and isn't-Alec-such-a-prick, from you. Don't you think that's a bit strange, Max? Don't you think you spend an awful lot of time and energy despising me?"**

**"I don't-"**

**"WHY?" It was almost a roar, and it wasn't until she felt the wall at her back that she realized she'd been backing away from him. "That's all I want to know, ****Max****. _Why the fuck do you hate me so much that you have to go out of your way to confirm it!?"_**

**"I don't hate you!" She yelled it right back at him.**

**"What, you think you're going to hurt my feelings? You can admit it – you _hate me!"_**

**"I DON'T HATE YOU!"**

**"YOU HATE ME!" His fist punctuated the sentence by slamming into the wall next to her head. It was the last straw, something inside ****Max**** snapped and began bleeding. She launched herself at him, grabbing the lapels of his jacket and shoving him into the wall, words pouring from her mouth, half-thoughts that she had never allowed to fully form even in her mind.**

**"You scare me, you asshole! You scare the shit out of me! You don't do what I say and you go off half-cocked and I can't ever read you right or figure out what you're thinking and you always surprise me and _you don't do what I say. You never even do what I expect! I hate that I can't peg you and fit you neatly away with everyone else – you frustrate me to no end and… and I feel so weird and off balance all the time and I hate that!" She didn't even register the shocked look on his face, the dam had been opened and now that it had she was having difficulty stopping it. Realizations were coming, cold hard certainties were crashing through her brain, the leaps of logic were acting like a chemical chain reaction, one setting off the other, all heading inexorably for one indisputable truth._**

**She fought it, fought it like her life depended on it. She abruptly shoved away from ****Alec****, backing up rapidly, desperately searching for objectivity.**

**Alec**** stared down at her, baffled and stunned, his brain struggling to process everything she had just said. She was staring at him, backing away slowly and he had never seen anyone look so shell shocked. Her dark eyes were fully dilated, huge and liquid in her alarmingly pale face and she was breathing like a race horse. He took a step after her, not sure what was going on, only that this was big. His instincts were screaming that this was important, that nothing had ever been this important.**

**"****Max-****"**

**"It's fine." Her voice was a whisper, "Everything's fine. It is. I just… I don't feel very good… I'm going to go into the bathroom-"**

**The back of her knee hit the coffee table, throwing her momentarily off balance. It wouldn't have knocked her over, she regained her balance almost immediately, but ****Alec**** reacted automatically, reaching out and grabbing her arm. And as the warm fingers curled around her skin, sending that familiar, traitorous curl of warmth through her, ****Max**** knew.**

**She knew.**

**TBC**


	10. Epiphany Revoked

**A/N: To answer the biggest question posed in response to Chapter 9 (other than "you dirty slut, how COULD you leave us hanging at such a pivotal point!? ;) which was "why the HELL haven't you posted at NWP? (www.nunswithpens.hyperboard.com. For those of you not in the know, NWP is the most incredible DA fanfic site in existence) First of all, I'm incredibly flattered that you want me to post there, but the fact remains that not just any one can go and post their stories. There are rules and stuff - only certain authors are allowed, and with good reason I might add. And to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure I want my crappy little doesn't-have-a-plot and written-while-I-was-wasted stories side by side with those very talented authors.**

**And thanks to all of you who told me what a beta reader is. Bob and I are very grateful to know who he is; he especially, is relieved.**

**Chapter 10 – Epiphany Revoked**

**Hour 4-5******

**Alec was perched on the back of the couch, his feet on the cushions and his eyes never leaving Max.**** Forty-five minutes ago she had virtually collapsed against the door, sliding down it until she sat huddled on the floor. Her knees were drawn up to her chest and her face was buried in her arms. Every now and then a slight tremor ran through her, but other than that she was practically comatose. After several attempts at getting her to talk to him ****Alec**** had given up, whatever she was working through she needed to do it by herself. He'd had time, watching her, to think about what she'd said to him. It hadn't really helped him understand her any better; in fact he still didn't really know what any of it meant, except that maybe she really doesn't hate him. Still, would the realization that she doesn't hate him have been enough to send his tough, indomitable ****Max**** into an emotional upheaval? He almost snorted at the absurdity.**

**So he just sat there, for once willing to be patient. He doubted she'd explain anything to him once she'd worked it out, but it would be good to just see some form of life. Hell, at this point he'd even be happy if she hit him.**

**Hour 6******

**"I'm hungry."**

**The muffled voice, after such a long silence, was shockingly loud. ****Alec**** jumped in surprise and his foot slid off the armrest it was bracing him on. He ended up sprawled gracelessly across the middle of the couch muttering something unsavory about humans in general and females in specific.**

**He pulled himself upright and looked over at his formerly comatose roommate. She looked different, he thought as she stood and headed towards the mini-fridge. Not necessarily her physical appearance, but something in the way she was carrying herself or moving or… something. He continued to watch as she removed two snickers and settled comfortably next to him on the couch. **

**"Huh."**

**She handed him a snickers and cocked an eyebrow irritably, "Was that grunt supposed to convey information of some kind?"**

**He peeled back the wrapper and took a bite, eyeing her as though a small alien head might suddenly explode out of her mouth. He wasn't going to ask, he decided, it was her business and her feelings and whatever she'd gone through it was obviously none of his concern.**

**"****Max****, what the hell was that all about?"**

**She settled back against the couch uncomfortably and mumbled around a mouthful of chocolate and caramel, "I had some stuff to figure out, that's all."**

**He watched her polish off the candy bar in record time and decided that this wasn't the time to point out that it hadn't been okay for _him to open the mini-fridge, but as soon as __she was hungry…_**

**"Now I'm tired." She tossed the wrapper on the floor and kicked off her shoes.**

**"Bed's pretty comfy." ****Alec**** said, "And I broke the springs in ear-"**

**He trailed off as she curled her feet under her and laid her head on the armrest.**

**"Don't mind me," He muttered, biting viciously into the candy, "Just act like I'm not even here."**

**"I'm sorry," She said sweetly, not opening her eyes, "Did you say something?"**

**Hour 9******

**This time when she woke up ****Max**** knew exactly where she was and exactly who she was laying on top of. He must have fallen asleep also, she thought with a mental roll of her eyes, ****Alec**** would never pass up the chance for a few extra hours. The slam of panic however, was exactly the same as the one she'd felt that morning. Only this time she knew the origin of that panic, knew exactly why her breath seized and her heat leapt to her throat.**

**Not bothering to move slow, she rolled off of the warm body beneath her and landed with a thump on her knees next to the couch.**

**She wasn't deluded enough to think that everything had changed now that she'd realized one or two important facts. Well, maybe her world had changed, but at the moment she had all the initiative and the upper hand. ****Alec**** didn't know what she knew and that made all the difference. ****Alec**** didn't know that everything between them had changed.**

**Alec**** didn't know that she was violently attracted to him.**

**Even now ****Max**** fought the urge to squirm at the thought. When thought in such a coherent sentence it didn't seem like it should be such a big deal. Yeah, so okay, she was physically attracted to a guy she knew. Big deal.**

**But it was ****Alec****. __****Alec****.**

**That was huge.**

**That was… that was coma inducing. As was proved by her recent actions. Suddenly the entire way she looked at him had changed. Suddenly the motivations behind her actions had suspiciously murky depths. Suddenly he wasn't just an annoying, frustrating screw-up. Now he was an annoying, frustrating screw-up who made her insides go jello-y and her neurons misfire. She still wasn't sure what any of it meant, not even after a lengthy self analysis. The conclusion she had finally come to: she needed Original ****Cindy**** in a bad, bad way. Until she could get a third opinion, until she could get some perspective and time, then everything was on hold. They were on a job, this was no time to be worrying over trivial personal troubles. Everything had happened too soon – first this thing with Logan and Asha and her subsequent feelings on that; and now this crap about Alec and what seemed to have been a year of self-delusion. She was just going to wrap it all up and stick it up on the shelf until she had ****O.C.**** and a gigantic tub of ice cream.**

**He rolled onto his side, facing her, and opened his eyes.**

**Max**** leapt to her feet. "I'm going to the bathroom."**

**She slammed the door behind her, locking it with shaking hands and resting her forehead against it. Sitting there against the wall for over an hour she had tried violently to gain some semblance of control over her emotions, had fought desperately to tamp down the fear that was still racing through her system. Nothing, it seemed, had changed. She couldn't control a fear that she didn't know the cause of. She'd had feelings for ****Logan****, she'd had very strong feelings for ****Logan****, and they had never terrified her the way ****Alec**** was now. What was different?**

**She beat her head rhythmically against the door. Why was she so scared? _What was different?_**

**No answer was provided – not from the depths of her mind and not divinely.**

**"Hey Maxie, you wiggin' out on me?"******

**She could hear him standing right outside, imagine his ear pressed against the door. "If you're taking a shower then I humbly offer my back scrubbing services."**

**Behind her closed eyes a sudden, graphic image appeared. Her standing naked under hot, pounding water, with those big, hard hands, slick with soap, sliding up her back… around to her stomach… coming up to cup-**

**"I'm fine!" It came out almost as a shriek. She used the sound of her voice to shatter the all too delicious picture that was forming.**

**"Um.**** Okay."**

**It was almost enough to convince herself that she was in heat. Almost. She knew her body well, and the degree of control that she was exercising would never have existed if she were in heat.**

**Max turned and walked over to the sink, staring into the mirror. The eyes that looked back at her were huge and slightly wild, almost like a cornered animal.**

**"He doesn't know." She whispered to her reflection. "Nothing has changed, because _he doesn't know."_**

**Those three words became her mantra and she chanted them over and over again. Until her heart rate slowed to normal and color came back into her cheeks. Slowly the panic induced cob webs cleared from her brain.**

**This little epiphany had changed nothing. It really hadn't. As far as ****Alec**** was concerned she was still just his bitchy comrade who really didn't like him all that much. He had no idea about anything. As long as he remained ignorant then nothing had changed. She certainly wasn't going to tell him. They could continue on as they always had, with her just a little more aware that he was an attractive man.**

**For the first time in hours ****Max**** smiled.**** Her reflection echoed the smile and it grew when she saw how genuine it was. Who needed ****O.C.****? This stuff was a piece of cake. Alec was still a jerk, she was still a bitch and they were still going to be jerky and bitchy to each other. Everything was fine.**

**She pushed the door open and walked back into the bedroom, looking around with interest. While she'd been in the bathroom the white lights had been turned off and colored lights now swung lazily across the walls, giving the room a disco feel.**

**"Pretty cool, huh?" Alec stood in one of the corners, playing with a set of switches. "And check this out…"**

**With a jerk the bed suddenly rose about four feet in the air and began to slowly spin in a circle, the lights bouncing off of the red velvet comforter.**

**"****Christ**** almighty." ****Max**** shook her head in disgust.**

**"This room is a marvel in tacky engineering." Alec said with obvious delight, "I mean, think about it, somebody actually said to someone else, 'Hey, I've got this great idea – let's make a revolving, vibrating, heart-shaped bed for people to have sex on.' And the really crazy thing is that someone else then said, 'Cool! Great idea! Let's spend money on it!'"**

**"You've spent far to much time thinking about this." Max wandered over to the bed, watching as it moved. ****Alec**** came and stood next to her. They stayed there for several minutes, not talking.**

**"I admit, I thought being locked in a bedroom with a gorgeous girl for 24 hours would be a bit more exciting." ****Alec**** sighed.**

**Then an explosion shook the building.**

***   *   ***

**So.**** I'm stuck again. Just drawing a complete blank. Let me tell you that this is the absolute last time I begin a story without having some sort of outline in mind. It feels like one of those round-robin stories that you pass around, with each person writing a different section, so you never know what you're going to have to work off of. You think I know what that explosion is all about? I don't have a clue. I just threw it in there because I got stuck again. Sigh. Sorry, I don't know why I'm telling you guys all this. IT'S JUST BLOODY FRUSTRATING! Finals are coming up, so it might be two weeks before the next chapter. I'm also working on the sequel to The Void, so that should be up before the end of December. Cheerio darlings.**


	11. Random

**Eh, I'm just going to post this up here. It's easier than sending you guys all over the internet in search for it. You should still go check out Nuns With Pens when you get a chance, though. =)**

**---**

**_Dear God_****, you ask, _is it possible this has been updated?! Yes, yes it is. And all the credit for that goes to the wonderful and fabulous _****Alexis**, who let me babble endlessly and helped to get my head clear where this damn albatross is concerned. From now on, no more attempts to outline the story or guide it or hell, even plan the next chapter. We're just riding it out guys, that seems to be the only way it wants to be told.****

**And thanks everyone, for sticking by this story and emailing me and PMing me and bugging me and caring about it and not letting me tear it up out of frustration. Kisses all around.**

**Chapter 11 – Random**

**The last thing anyone, even two highly trained transgenics, expected at that particular moment, was an explosion. The force of it threw both ****Max** and ******Alec** backwards onto the floor, where ******Alec** slammed into an end table and ******Max** slammed into him.****

**"Shit." She swore, scrambling to her feet. "What the hell was that?"**

**Alec** crawled to his knees and looked up at her. "Something got blown up."****

**They stared at each other. Alarms began to whine throughout the building. For once their minds were on exactly the same train of thought.**

**"Nobody's going to notice a few extra alarms going off right now." ****Max** said slowly.****

**Alec** smiled.****

**They moved at the same time towards the door and continued moving at top speed until they hit it simultaneously.**

**They also simultaneously bounced right off of it.**

**Alec** stared, stunned, at the ceiling from his position on the floor. "Holy ****Christ******."******

**"What the hell is that thing made of." ****Max** sat up and rubbed her shoulder. "It was like hitting a steel reinforced brick wall. They _really didn't want these people getting out."_****

**Alec sat up, wincing as his muscles protested. "Well, there are worse things than being locked in a room and forced to have sex. Take us for example, our rewarding and meaningful relationship never would have ever begun if Manticore hadn't locked us in a room to force us to have sex."**

**"You know, I was really hoping to wipe that entire experience from my memory – but hey, thanks for reminding me."**

**"My pleasure, ****Max****."******

**They stared silently at the door.**

**"You know, I'd give a lot to know what's going on out there." Alec stood.**

**The alarms began to whine in their room and both winced at the assault on their delicate hearing. The door slid open.**

**"Well, well, well." Alec shrugged into his knapsack and grinned at Max. "Ask and ye shall receive."**

**"Lord, please strike ****Alec**** down with all the all the might of your fury." Max muttered as they stepped cautiously out of the room. Smoke drifted through the hall outside and muted yelling could be heard alongside the rhythmic siren of the alarm.**

**Abandoning any attempt to communicate verbally, ****Alec** tapped two fingers to his wrist and then pointed down the hall. Max nodded and they moved simultaneously in the direction he'd pointed, gun drawn and held at his side.****

**They were out of the building in minutes – the escape so easy it was almost a let down. The gear they had used coming in was right where they had left it, undisturbed and presumably undiscovered. It wasn't until they were a safe distance away that both transgenics paused to survey the scene behind them. Alarms could still be vaguely heard by normal human hearing, but other than that there was no physical evidence that anything out of the ordinary was occurring.**

**"There's no smoke or anything." Max said, somewhat uneasy. "I figured it was a fire or something."**

**"Maybe it was a test."**

**They looked at each other silently and both knew that the other had the same apprehension as the other. Something, on an instinctual level, didn't feel right. Without another word they headed back towards where they'd just come from. This time they circled warily around the perimeter, taking time to examine things closely. It wasn't until they got to the back that Max felt a lurch of dread low in her stomach.**

**"Oh, shit." Alec breathed.**

**Parked discreetly in the trees was Bessie.**

**Just then a group of medical personnel came trotting around the building carrying very non-medical looking rifles and handling them in very non-medical ways. Both transgenics faded instantly into the trees.**

**"Think they got 'em?" Alec whispered.**

**"Yes."**

**"Ditto."******

**"No transfer yet."**

**"Rendezvous same ****ten thirty****."******

**"Transfer?"******

**"Motel indefinite."******

**"Go."**

**Without waiting to see what ****Alec** did, knowing he would move at the same time she did only in the opposite direction, Max turned stealthily moved deeper into the cover of the forest. She kept the soldiers/medics in sight the entire time out of habit, not really seeing them as a threat. The most important thing at this point was to keep the building in her line of sight – so far they could assume that whomever had set off that alarm was still inside. But if they transported them somewhere else then she was going to have to follow.****

**The alarms went silent.**

**As she moved ****Max**** realized that they had never been specified who would stay here and who would head back to the motel for reinforcements – it was simply understood. She grunted to herself and set about finding a high enough spot that would afford her the best view of the building below.**

***   *   ***

**It was twenty minutes later that another group of medical soldiers exited out through the front doors and into the parking lot where three large Hummers were waiting. In the midst of the ten armed guards was a bound and gagged **Logan****** and Asha.**

**Max** swore softly to herself as she stood and began to rapidly make her way down the hill. Alec wasn't back yet, but he knew that if he returned and she wasn't at the rendezvous point then she was following the transfer and he would wait at the motel until she contacted him.****

**She took a short cut through the woods so that she hit the highway just before the hummer. Frantically she looked around – but there were no cars in sight to hijack. She pressed herself against a tree as the hummers came to the intersection and turned right onto the highway.**

**"Shit." She watched as the caravan of vehicle drove away from her. She could run fast and she could run far, but there was no way she'd be able to keep up for long.**

**A low rumbling from behind her interrupted her thoughts. Max turned just as a large brown car came to a halt next to her. "Want some candy, little girl?" Alec called out the open window.**

**"****Jesus****, **Alec******." She wrenched the door open and climbed in the passenger seat. "A _Buick_?"**

**"My options were limited." He pulled out onto the road, following the Hummer's at a significant distance. "It was this or a Passat."**

**"You always go with the foreign cars, don't you know anything?"**

**"We're carrying a small arsenal with us, Maxie. A nice spacious Buick is just what we need."**

**"Could you be any more conspicuous?" She continued complaining, "We're driving a gigantic shit colored whale."**

**One of his eyebrows shot up, "Graphic."**

**They drove in silence for several miles, keeping their eyes on the equally inconspicuous Hummers.**

**"You think they came looking for us?" Alec finally spoke. Max didn't need to ask what he was talking about.**

**"Yeah."**** She looked moodily out the front window. "Like idiots they probably thought they could rescue us. Typical **Logan****."********

**Alec** glanced at her, fairly certain she wasn't aware of the way her voice had softened on those last two words.****

**"Yeah, nice of them to work us into their busy fucking schedule."**** He sneered, and then instantly regretted the words as Max stiffened.**

**"**Christ******, **Max****** I didn't mean-"**

**"What is your problem with him anyway?" She interrupted coolly, "For as long as you've been around you've been a prick to Logan."**

**"Look, the guy just bugs me, alright." He ran a hand restlessly through his hair. "You can think he's as noble and perfect as you want but the fact remains that he bailed on you with the first cute blond that came along."**

**"You're being unfair. I told him that it was over between us and on top of that Logan thinks you and I are together."**

**"Bullshit. Anybody who really cared about you should A) see that we're no more together than O.C. and Sketchy and B) know that you never mean it when you say you want to end it with him."**

**"He can't read my mind, you're expecting too much from him." She returned hotly.**

**"No, you're expecting too little from someone who's supposed to love you."**

**"It's not _fair_ to ask him to wait for me!"**

**His hand slammed down on the steering wheel, "_I would have waited for you_!_"_**

**In the sudden, surprised silence ****Max** realized that one of the windows was open, blowing warm air across the back of her neck. She wasn't sure who was more taken aback, her or Alec.****

**"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked carefully.**

**"The guy's a fucking idiot, lets just leave it at that." He mumbled irritably.**

**Max** stared at his disgruntled profile and quite unexpectedly felt a smile begin to grow on her face.****

**"I think that's the nicest thing anybody's ever said to me." She turned back around in her seat to face front, grinning like a loon.**

**"Well, don't get used to it." He slouched in his seat almost petulantly.**

**Max** squinted at the hummers up ahead, narrowing her pupils to keep them in sight. "What are you? A little blue-haired old lady? Speed up, we're going to lose them."****

**"No little blue-haired old lady ever had one of these." Alec nodded at the small black leather case sitting next to him.**

**Max picked it up, unzipped it and pulling out a hand-held PDA.**

**"Complete with infrared GPS satellite." Alec continued smugly. "Once you lock onto the caravan that thing'll track them anywhere in the world. Our eyes don't have to be able to see jack shit."**

**Max** refused to admit that she was impressed with his foresight. She tapped several buttons and an aerial image of the three vehicles came on the screen. "Logan and Asha are in the middle one." She murmured. "It's the only one with more than two people."****

**"Now you can kick back and relax, ****Max**." Alec smiled at her, sliding on sunglasses. "As usual, I've got everything under control."****

***   *   ***

**The problems began two hours later.**

**They had been driving into the setting sun for over twenty minutes, ****Max** hunched over the steering wheel, muttering curses underneath her breath. She squinted out at the road, puzzled at what she was seeing. It appeared as though a white fluffy blanket was laid out across the highway a mile ahead of her.****

**She frowned and thought about slowing down. But it was just a blanket, what harm could a blanket do to the car? She looked out the side window uneasily. They'd been driving through country for quite awhile now. Real country. As in green fields and fences and strange looking vehicles with large wheels. Some farmer must have lost his blanket out of the back of his truck. She glanced over at Alec who appeared to be sound asleep against the window. No need to wake him up over a measly blanket.**

**Pleased with her decisions, she faced forward again.**

**Hmm.**** The closer they got the larger the blanket got. The… thicker it got as well.**

**In fact… she slammed her foot down on the break pedal.**

**Alec** was slammed painfully against the dash. It was only because of his unnatural reflexes that he didn't go flying through the windshield.****

**"What the fuck-" He began, and then cut himself off when he saw what was only inches from the nose of their hood.**

**Max** and ******Alec** both stared in silent shock.****

**"What it is?" Max whispered. It appeared to be a writhing, two foot high, dirty blanket that spilled over the road for a good thirty feet.**

**"Um."**** Alec glanced out his window nervously, seeing that the blanket was beginning to surround the car. "I think it's a herd of sheep."**

**"Sheep!"**** Max glared at them. "What the hell are sheep doing out here in… in…" She trailed off.**

**"In the country?"******

**"Shut up."**

**"Well." Alec settled back in his seat. "Go get 'em off the road, Maxie. And hurry it up, we don't want to get too far behind."**

**"I'll feed you to them." She growled, looking around unhappily. "What are we supposed to do?"**

**"Hit the horn. Maybe that'll scare them into running away."**

**Pressing down as hard as she could, ****Max** let it sound for a good minute. The pace of the writhing seemed to increase for a moment, but there was no net movement in either direction.****

**"Damn."**

**They sat in silence for a while and then simultaneously climbed out of the car. "Why sheep? What I know about sheep could fit into a thimble." Max said glumly. "Come on, Alec, you were in Manticore longer than I – lets have a plan of action."**

**Alec** looked at her incredulously. "Gee, sorry Max, Manticore didn't exactly have an intensive training program for how to handle livestock."****

**A cold nose pressed against her leg and ****Max** looked down into long lashed brown eyes. Unexpectedly a lump built in her throat. "Manticore would just shoot them." She said bitterly. She bent down and wrapped her arms around it, patting the scratchy fur. "Aww, you're so sweet and beautiful."****

**Alec** stared over the hood at her with alarm. "Max? Stop hugging the sheep."****

**"It's not their fault they got lost out here." She stood up, glaring at him. "I'll hug whoever I damn well want."**

**"We're trying to get them to _move_, not encourage them to stay."**

**A third voice interjected at that moment, causing both transgenics to turn in surprise to the man walking up to the road. "Don't worry, I'll have them out of your way in just a second."**

**He wasn't much more than a child, the shepherd heading towards them. His smile was sunny as he looked up at them. "We try to time the crossing just right – but it rarely works out as planned."**

**"Uh.**** No problem." Alec said, still unnerved at the boys sudden appearance.**

**"I'm **Lloyd******." He jutted his chin out in the direction of the sheep, "That's Mikey and Sammy."**

**They followed his gaze and were surprised to see two Australian Shepherds nipping at the heels of the sheep. Much to her surprise, Max realized that the sheep were actually moving.**

**"Not to sound like the clichéd country bumpkin that I probably am, but you two aren't from around here, are you?" Lloyd asked with ill concealed amusement.**

**"Boy is that the understatement of the century." Max muttered.**

**He strolled up and leaned casually against the hood of the car. "Not in Kansas anymore?"**

**Max** and ******Alec** both stared at him.****

**"We're not any where near ****Kansas****." Max said in confusion. "I thought we were closer to ****Oregon****."**

**"I've never been to ****Kansas****." Alec mused aloud, "Tornado's out there – nasty buggers."**

**Lloyds**** eyebrows were at his hairline. "Never mind. Where you headed?"**

**"Just driving."**** Alec said vaguely. "Decided we needed to get away for awhile."**

**"If you're looking for a place to stay, there's a nice little Bed and Breakfast up ahead." Lloyd gave a sharp whistle through his teeth and the dogs separated. "I know the owners – they're a real nice couple, they'll treat you like royalty."**

**"Thanks, but I think we'll keep going." Max said politely. "There's still some daylight left."**

**"Suit yourselves. Road's clear now." Lloyd walked across the street after his sheep. "Have a good evening."**

**"You too, thanks for your help."**

**"Nice kid." Alec said, climbing back into the passenger seat. "Kinda strange. But nice."**

**"Yeah, quite articulate for an ignorant country bumpkin."**** Max fumbled for the keys.**

**"Well, we are just condescending city folk." This time Alec put on his seat belt. "It's easy to stereotype them all."**

**Max** put the key in the ignition. "Still, he was probably better-" An awful grinding noise came from the engine as she turned the key. "What the hell?" She tried it again, with the same results. Her and ******Alec** stared at each other.****

**A familiar, cheerful voice floated in from the open windows. "Looks like maybe you'll be needing that Bed and Breakfast after all."**

**TBC**


End file.
